I learned 15 years ago.

As awkwardly as I began my cycling lessons, I took these sticks in my hands. An adult held us and showed us how to stand up straight, look straight ahead and, of course, keep our balance with what we would later learn was our centre of gravity. Far be it from me to give a lecture on physics or cycling.

🧶 However, when I think back to my first stitches, this is what comes to mind.

Stand in your favourite place to knit, and close your eyes. Imagine yourself going back in time to your first stitch creations. Where are you now? Who is standing next to you? That person guiding you to place the yarn, hold the needles. The celebration of knitting your first row!

🧶 What I know, my comfort has increased, my tension has changed, and my pleasure is growing. Not only have I made mistakes that I've learned from (I've still got some under my belt!), I've also celebrated successes.

There's a lot of coordination involved when you start knitting: both physical and mental. Your fingers create a ballet with the yarn, like a spider spinning its web (I admit, I'm scared of them, but they're extraordinary!). The needles that our hands hold help us to create one stitch at a time. Mine were made of plastic. They curved like the athlete who does the pole vault: 'sprint', stick the pole in the air and jump over the bar! Can you see the curved pole? Mine bent so much that a "crack" sounded. All of a sudden, my meshes stopped working, wondering what was next!

It was so tight. I learned to adjust my needle size; knit a swatch (for another story).

🧶 In short, this is also where I learnt that there was something other than yarn and needles to make my project a success, MY TENSION.

Have a great time with your stitches.

Caroline