As long as I can remember, my Mom and some of my aunts would have their bag of knitting with them wherever they went. They could always do a few rows... or a lot of rows as they had some sit-down time, with friends over a cup of tea, or in their own kitchen as they waited for the bread to rise, or the cake, baking in the oven, was ready for the next step. There was always a project or two started and needing to be finished; woolen work socks for the men, warm scarves for the ladies, and mitts for the children.
It was a hobby that never held my attention; I had better things to do. Much of my spare time involved keyboards; piano keys, organ keys, and typewriter keys. When my grandfather purchased a used piano for me, I was hooked. Piano lessons for me started when I was five years old, and continued until I entered high school. I learned that they was a pipe organ in the church across the street from my school, and my parents agreed that it would be fine for me to start taking organ lessons. The church that our family attended had a new organ but only one person knew how to play it, so I had a new goal.
Circumstances and interests changed when I left home after High School. During the three years of nursing training, I did have access to a piano, but was very self-conscious about playing the piano in the public lounge of our Residence. It was a treat to play a Heinzman grand piano, but I would usually play it when I should have been sleeping.
When I moved out of the city to my first job as a registered nurse, a “new” hobby grabbed my attention. Living in the basement of the hospital, I had no trouble sleeping in the daytime, which was good news for several married nurses who had family responsibilities during the day, and struggled to stay awake and sharp during their night shift. There was a nursing aide who also enjoyed the night shift, and we often worked together. Many times there were empty beds in this 19-bed hospital so there wasn’t much for us to do but make hourly rounds to check on patients. To occupy our time, we cleaned cupboards, raided the kitchen refrigerator and cooked our own meal. My partner also had her “craft” bag, and her work was flawless. It was she who came up with the wise idea that she would love to teach me how to knit, insisting that it would be a very handy craft when I had my own family. Hmm... I had heard that before from my Mom, but I reconsidered. The first suggested project was to knit a baby shawl, hoping that I would eventually complete it in time for the arrival of my first baby. That would give me plenty of time to complete the project... I was still looking for a husband!
Guess what... I DID have it completed, a year before our son arrived. Since then, I have knitted two more shawls, for the first arrival to our kids’ family. I fell in love with the pattern, and the baby, and the grandchildren. I continued to knit sweaters, hats, scarves, and afghans, until members of our family had a stronger preference to store-bought garments. That’s not all bad; I now have more time for my latest hobby; my computer.
Tags: A-Z Hobbies
