Knitting, Because My Soul is an Old Lady

Have I ever told you how much I enjoy knitting? Because I love knitting!

Let me share a story from my childhood. When I was in second grade, my class did a knitting project. We used handmade wooden circle looms and our fingers, and we each had to bring yarn from home to make knit hats. 

My mom, clearly the best mom in the world, took me to a store and bought me variegated yarn (you know, the kind that changes colors without you having to change literal colors of yarn.) The pattern transitioned from stark white to deep purple to white to forest green to white and repeat. It was beautiful. I was the only kid who had variegated yarn. Everyone else in my class had brough solid colors. We did have a big black trash bag of community yarn that if you wanted you could donate your spare yarn into and anyone could pick out and use whatever was in there. 

My hat had a really cool spiral striping effect to it, like a candy cane, and even though I have no clue what happened to it (probably lost like 75% of the hats I have made for my kids) that project has stuck with me for over thirty years.

So on January 1st, 2025, I started knitting. I had ordered a plastic set of four circle looms (different sizes) and it came with a pointy tool to use instead of fingers (a game-changer,) and some rainbow variegated yarn. My first hat was completed in four hours. 

I currently have THREE official knitting bags (but one is very small!)

I was making so many hats that I quickly ran out of heads to wear them, so I put them up for sale at my art events. For each hat I sell throughout the year, I donate a kids' hat at the end of the year. 

At this point, a little over a year in, I don't just make hats. I also make scarves, scrubby washcloths, and as of December 2025, have taken on the project of making a king-sized blanket for our bed because I'm a sucker for punishment. (It's already big enough for me to use as a blanket while I am knitting it! 😁)

​I've done a few fun designs with the hats, and have ideas for others sketched out on graph paper. 

Not only do I love the sheer variety of yarns that I can buy new, I also have a winder to reclaim yarn from sweaters or blankets, which has taken this hobby to a whole new level. 

What is it that I love so much about knitting with circle looms? It's so physical. My mind can be anywhere, or nowhere, and my hands are busy doing the work. My favorite times to knit are while watching TV in the evenings and when I'm in the car (as a passenger, obviously!)

I can't honestly say that it's mindless, because it can get complicated when you are going back and forth or even using multiple yarns at the same time - and that's its own sort of accomplishment. But my scrubby washcloths? They're meant for cleaning, so they are pretty simple and small. 

It's a hobby that's just so soothing to my grandma-esque soul. 🧶