I am not K2, P2 you

When asked who taught me to knit I always go back to one memory. It isn't even really a knitting memory. We were visiting my Great Grandma G and she was teaching my brother and I how to do the chain stitch for crocheting. I don't even know how to crochet to this day. It is one of my last memories of her. A few years later I am in 4th grade and my mother teaches me how to make a scarf. From middle school to college I don't knit. Not even a little.  Then some where along the line after graduation day I start knitting, like crazy. Starting with scarves I learned from books to askin my aunt for advice. I was learning not only out of love for the craft but of need.

I was, and still am broke, they become gifts, things for me and on occasion I sell something. I needed ankel high brown socks for everyday work and the only ones I could find were knee highs. I couldn't afford 19th century period mittens and sontags for my historic costumes for work so I made them.

My modern things I used or based off patterns but for the historic stuff I used no patterns.  Here is the thing, yes there were a few knitting patterns then but most girls learned to knit from their mothers and once you know the basics which is only two stitches knit or purl you can make anything with a few increases or decreases. The blue mitts was completely trial and error for me same and the first thing I knitted thst wasn't a scarf. I went by judgement with the sontags, and hat you see above.

We don't even know where knitting comes from some saying Egypt others say Early Europe.  We do know all of the earliest pieces are done in the round, meaning with four or more needles going in a circle until at the earliest the 19th century,by my research, then we see the two needle stitching. All this stitching is done with the knit stitch,  which is at the back of the needle. Around the 12th or 13th centuries we start to see the purl stitch which has the looping at the front of the needle. It also goes from being a housewives task until it becomes a mens trade. Then there are knitters guilds all over Europe keeping the knittig secret with the widows and orphans doing the simple knitted pieces. This continues until I would say the Industrial Revolution. After that it is women's work again and prior to the Civil War housewives knitted on average 10 pairs of stockings a year.

Today most garments are knitted on straight needles and pieced togeather. We use patterns,and create beutiful designs with cables and a multitude of colors. A new knitter is like that person who figured out knitting years ago discovering that with a little persistance, two or more needles, yarn, two stitches Knit and Purl, a few decreases and increases and a lot of friends they can make anything. And I am not k2,p2 (ribbing) you.