Where it all began

In a big part, knitting is almost like a mystery. No one knows exactly where or when it started. All of the signs that historians have found lead to the fact that knitting is actually more recent than we think. Egypt seems to be the one place that historians have found the most evidence of knitting in. Between 1000 and 1300 A.D. are the approximate dates that the first forms of knitting were made and then later on recovered. Through my research I have seen more pictures of socks than anything. That was the most prominent article of clothing that people used to knit. "Although nobody knows exactly where true knitting started, it would seem that knitting was probably spread by Arabian sailors and merchants who traveled throughout the Mediterranean." This is why historians have come to the conclusion that knitting is a more recent craft. Similar crafts are older but the true craft of knitting is younger than cross-knitting. There is not much information about how knitting began but it is something that we have not had a lot of time to look back on.

Information

On the Professional Side of Things...

Vogue Knitting

I am usually the person that hates using websites as a way to learn; I am more old fashioned, but I love the Vogue Knitting website. There are tons of patterns and even instructions and help if you need it. There are other resources that are useful as well. They really put together this website nicely. Everything is organized and clean cut. Since it is a website for the Vogue Knitting magazine, there are also things from the magazine on the website. It is an adventure on this site; there are so many things to go through; it is like a knitters dream. Even knitting competitions are posted on their page. I had no idea that those even existed! It was interesting to find that out.  

Knitting for Kids

Even though this website was for designed for children, it was still helpful. It had pictures of all kinds of designs and patterns. Also, this site included some cute rhymes to help remember how to knit! There are links are knitting blogs and knitting videos. A lot of information was put on this website. This is a site for beginners to start with when knitting. It will let them get the knack for this craft. There are clear instructions and it is organized well just like the Vogue Knitting page.

A Young Knitter

For my project I decided to knit a hat using a beautiful orange wool. My first thought was to create a scarf; I thought that it would be easy. I was extremely wrong and had to tear out my creation many times. My frustration was easily seen through my rough expressions and pouty lips. I saw that my best friend had decided to knit a hat and said that it wold be much easier. The hat route was the path I decided to wonder on. The first day was aggravating; I would always knit the wrong way or get the wool twisted somehow.  It felt like knitting was a backwards thinking activity and I thought that I was not able to do well at it. As the hat got further and further I was determined not to give up on knitting; I would knit something, it would just be a slow process. Knitting is something that I enjoy doing, even though I somehow still have holes in my hat. I found the the way my hat is formed, the holes are not even visible. The bottom of the hat rolls up a tad to cover them up and it even made the hat cuter! My mistakes turned out to be a positive thing for my creation. I love my hat, although I wish that it would stay on my head! I made it a little big. This project taught me not to give up even when you don't see immediate results. Creating something to be beautiful and proud of takes time and effort.Even though I had to start over numerous times I still wanted to keep on going. I have never truly finished a project like this and to wear something that I can say is made by me feels remarkable. Knitting was something that I thought was only for my Mee-Maw and then I realized that it is truly a craft for anyone of any age. At the end of the project you feel so accomplished that you get to wear or give away something that you have hand made.