I was just thinking about how I got back into knitting a few years back and thought I'd share my story in the hopes others will do the same. It's the time of year to recall fond memories, and since most of us were probably taught at some point by a friend or loved one, I thought this would be good.
When I was very small--around 5 or 6, maybe a little older-- my grandmother sat my sister and me down to learn to knit. We didn't catch on to casting on, so she did it for us to at least get started. Mom had tried teaching me crochet a year or so before and I didn't get that either (still don't). We never really succeeded at knitting anything bigger than a potholder.
We got a little older and found one of the "Teach Yourself to Knit" books and half-way figured it out. I bought a ball of horrible multicolored yarn to make a blanket with... and that never happened. The needles went away once more.
I tried quilting (too slow) and sewing (buttons only, I'm still no good at straight lines), and other crafty things... nothing stuck.
Fast forward about 10 years. I'm sitting in my dorm bored to death. My boyfriend is working all night again and I don't want to go sit with him this time. I head to the store for some entertainment (you never buy anything, you just play with whatever's on display at Meijer... 24 hours of fun). I spot some yarn and decide I need to make a blanket. I immediately buy enough yarn and the needles for the blanket on the label (at the time it was too hard for me, but it would now be a little boring). I get it home, go to cast on... and draw a blank. I try for several hours to remember how to use the little sticks to weave something warm... and I finally resort to my good friend google. From the instructions I found I realized Grandma never taught us quite right and that might be why I struggled all those years.
I found tons of websites and free patterns and go out again the next day to get some HUGE needles to make a Hot Damn blanket. My nephew gets that first one. The boyfriend (now EX. I didn't know the curse) gets the next... a niece gets one, and I finally get my own (though Mom liked it and I let her have it). So many more blankets, scarves, hats, mittens, socks, sweaters, and even little discloths have followed.
I still get yarn for kids' blankets at Meijer and Wally's... I figure I want the stuff to last with kids using it and being washed a million times, so it's worth not being a yarn snob, at least for that. I did break down and start buying books with patterns and instructions. My LYS has become my home away from home and they know a lot of the time I'm just in there to look at yarns and tools I can't afford on a state employee salary. People at work see me knit on some lunch breaks and always ask if I would teach them. I try, and they ask how I learned.
"My grandma taught me"
-Amanda