Life lessons

I am feeling very proud of myself after my weekends work. The Vintage Sweater is getting sewed together by your truly! This is after picking up a project after years and finishing knitting it. To the average reader you are probably scratching your head in confusion right now. Why is this worth a post you ask yourself? Let me elaborate on a few things about myself and my past life that will give you clarity.

I don't sew period. My mom is such a good seamstress she could have done it professionally. When you have that caliber of talent and you are a tomboy you don't feel the need to sew so I didn't. My mom was disappointed that I had no desire as the only girl in the family to learn such girly things. It wasn't until after I was married and in my mid-twenties that I began knitting. My ex mother-in-law was an avid knitter. It looked so fun and cool. I asked her to teach me. We were pretty low on the pay scale so paying for classes was not an option.

I need to interrupt myself here for a moment to tell (or remind) you my ex mother-in-law never liked me. She didn't even ask me to call her by her first name until after I had the first male grandchild. That was over five years into the marriage after four years of dating. She said I wasn't good enough for her darling son. She forbid her son to marry me. She also said it wouldn't last. She had to wait 21 1/2 years to say I told you so. I can guarantee she did say it.

So she reluctantly taught me and assisted me when I had trouble. She made a big deal about how I am left handed and it was sooo hard to teach me and help. . . I now know that was total bullshit! I thought I knit left handed but I don't. I knit "right handed" just like most knitters. What a manipulative witch! It was very confusing to me in the beginning since I thought I had to (as with most tasks) watch and reverse it in order to do it lefty. The other thing she did is tell me she would just fix things instead of showing me. "You probably cant do this yet". She didn't want me to be successful at "her" thing.

I started Vintage Sweater in mid January in 1985. I got a gift certificate from a yarn store for Christmas and waited til they had their winter sale in January. I was able to get yarn for two sweaters at that time. Neither of these ever got finished, yet. I got frustrated, Then I got a job, then my ex wanted to go to grad school (though we have yet to afford for me to go back to college) so he could make more money. The short of it is it stopped being fun so it got put away.

When I was pregnant I wanted to make a blanket for my baby. We were at Stanford for the ex to go to the grad school. I went to a local yarn shop and purchased everything to make a cotton blanket. That got finished with the help of some gals that lived in the student housing we did. That is actually what gave me the idea.

Through the years my ex M.I.L (Mother In Law) would make negative comments about my lack of follow through on these projects. I tried picking it up anew when Wil was a baby but it was sporadic at best. I even started a couple summer sweaters. She always had me make things too small, short or whatever would screw it up. I know this now but didn't see it then. Very few things got finished but I did keep them and the yarns bought in hope that "this" would be the project I would shine at. Some of these yarns and projects are in my stash to this day.

That brings us to the present. I feel in finishing Vintage Sweater or any of the projects from then shows me I am a good knitter and the better person. Even if I never wear it because it is a bit small I will know that I finished it. I am not the gullible quitter I was at that time in that relationship. She has no hold over me and cant hold me down anymore. She wouldn't stand a chance against me now. I have learned a lot of hard eye opening lessons since leaving that family and trying to make it on my own. I am a strong independent woman that wont take crap from the likes of her. Hey world, despite all the things you have thrown at me, I am still standing.