Thursday, December 18, 2008

Knit one, purl two?

While we were traveling to St. Louis this past weekend to see the Rockettes at the Fabulous Fox Theater, my favorite eight- year-old pulled out her knitting needles. Like many kids, she didn’t focus on it for long before moving on to some of the other things she brought to entertain herself on the drive.

But seeing her attempting knitting got me to thinking about taking it up as a hobby. I’ve recently read a couple of books that were set in yarn shops (I really enjoyed the last one, Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton. Take one magical town ala Harry Potter, add a romantic subplot and set it in a yarn shop. There are also a couple of mystery series built around knitting and other needle work.)

But I digress. So the eight-year old and the books combined to remind me that my mother tried to teach me to knit. I probably wasn’t much older than eight or nine and it just didn’t take. Then a Twitter pal mentioned knitting.

Is this adding up to a cosmic hint?

I Googled “knitting in Jefferson City” to see what turned up. I didn’t find any classes in my town, but a couple of options exist in Columbia. I also discovered Ozark Handspun, “artisan -crafted homespun yarn,” that’s created right here in mid-Missouri. According to the company’s Web site, the owner began “washing, dyeing, carding and spinning,” after a visit to a yarn shop in California.

So I’m seriously considering stopping in one of those shops on my next trip to Columbia to get more information on the beginner’s classes and to check out all that soft fluffy yarn. Just what I need, another addiction. Ha!

No comments: