Skill My Mother Couldn’t Teach Me
My entry to the five minute freewrite. Check @mariannewest’s post Here for more info on freewriting.
Whenever I see the word knitting needles or knitting, images of my mother flood my mind. Knitting always seemed to be a winter activity at our house.
I can visualize Mother sitting close to the wood stove knitting up a sweater or socks to keep someone warm. Heck, we lived in Canada, winters can get quite chilly and warm home-knit socks and mittens were always welcomed. Mother had even taught some of our neighbors to knit.
One of my duties was to help her roll the yarn into a ball. 🧶 I remember the yarn being wool and came in a twisted skein that had to be untangled. I stood with the wool between outstretched arms and Mother would untangle it and roll it into a ball so she could work easier with it. As a young girl I remember complaining that my outstretched arms were getting tired.
Once I got older I wanted to know how to knit. Mother sat my restless ass down and got out the knitting needles. Did I mention my mother was impatient and got frustrated easily? It was a lost cause and to this day I have a block when it comes to knitting.
Later in life I picked up a crochet hook after watching a friend work on a blanket. Crocheting came easy and I still like to make something once in awhile, such as, toques or the keyhole scarf I’m working on in the above photo. I hear it’s good to relax and knit or crochet- even lowers your blood pressure.
When memories of my Mother come to mind, I still wonder why I couldn’t buckle down and learn how to knit from her.
....end of five minute freewrite using the optional Prompt: Knitting Needles
#thealliance
Now hear this and don't laugh Lady Jo.
My mom could knit those fascinating cables into jerseys and at times she had about 8 or more knitting needles going on the same job.
But when it came to rolling the balls I used to disappear like a puff of smoke.
Two things I hated was to help with rolling the balls and churning the arm of the old big milk separator.
To this day my arms hurt when I think about it.
Blessings!
Haha Sir Stephen. I don’t blame you for running as holding the yarn while Mother rolled it into ball was tiring, especially for a youngster who wants to go outside with friends.
I also used to help with the churning and even hand milked the cows when Father wasn’t home. Mother and I would do the barn chores. I was the oldest child and I was grateful when my brother finally got old enough to help but there was a big age difference between us.
Hahaha, so glad that you know exactly what I am talking about Lady Jo.
The old man would at times be waiting for me early morning as I silently made my way out. Then he would grab me by the ear and lead me painfully to the milking room where the separator was.
Fond memories!
Glad that your brother could eventually help.
Blessings!
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Nice memory. My mother crocheted and made a whole lot of other craft stuff that I am so happy to still have today. Thanks for giving me that memory by giving us yours.
Welcome @owasco and thanks. It’s so nice to have some things from our mothers. A silly thing but I have a glass I keep in the bathroom that she gave me. Mother has been gone 33 yrs now so that glass is really old. It has a blue heron on it.
I love that glass. I'm so glad you kept it.
Thank you so much for using our new community to post!! You rock!!
Most welcome @marianne. I’m happy to participate. 💕
Thank you so much for using the Freewriters community to post! As a little Thank you for posting, here is an SBI
This is awesome. Thanks so much @freewritehouse. 🤗 💗
Nice feelings about your mother on freewriting.
Thanks @kamrunnahar. 😊
How interesting and what a great memory to have! But - although needlework teaches us patience, that doesn't help in teaching it. Especially when two impatient people come together ;) Perhaps your mother was more a Severus Snape: would have loved to talk the fine art of knitting for hours but couldn't deal with having to teach beginners...
My tale of needlework and my mother is a bit differen: I learnt to knit and crochet and basic embroidery at school when I was nine or ten years old. And I wasn't good at it. My fine motor skills are bad and it always takes me more time than others to learn how to do things with my hands - from recorder playing to typewriting. What made matters worse: most other girls had help from their mothers. My mother had lived through the war and the post-war years when you had to knit or sew if you wanted to have things to wear. When that wasn't necessary anymore, she refused to deal with it, even thought it unnecessary to learn it (she did mend socks and other things, though). So all the other girls came to school with nice finished projects and I still fought with mine... Let's just say it took some decades for needlework and me to become close friends ;)
Hi @mascara! I glad you have come to a close friendship with needlework. it certainly can relax the mind.
My mother, coming over to England from Ireland, was also involved in the war where she met my father who was with the Canadian forces stationed there. She came to Canada as a war bride and lived through some difficult times here.
Funny how these things happen Jo, @redheadpei. Your memories of your time with your mum and the wool rolling is priceless.
Thanks Angie @angiemitchell. Although I didn’t appreciate it at the time, so many memories of my mother pop into mind. So much is wasted on youth but that is the way life is suppose to be.
Yes it is, youth is the growing learning time and we end up with so many lovely memories.
My aunt couldn't teach me and my sister either ... but sis eventually picked up the knitting and I picked up the crochet hook. Sometimes, we as children just don't know what we need...
Hi Deeann! I’m glad it all worked out eventually and we both can crochet now. 😊 🧶 💕
Yes ... I just wish my aunt were here to laugh about how it turned out!
I hated rolling yarn. Oh! Does that make me a bad person? I was the oldest girl and expected to help, but, I was surrounded by six brothers who didn't do girl work when I was there.
Seriously. Dudes.
I did learn how to knit and crochet, although not from my mother as she was right-handed and I was left and it looked different. :)
Suffice to say, one of my mother's older friends came to the rescue and to this day, I actually crochet and quilt more than I knit, but, I love the look of knitting.
Nice post, Jo!
!tip
If you are a bad person then I am in the same boat. 😂 Yarn rolling was not my favorite thing. 🧶
There’s no hope for the rest of us Denise, if you are bad. You are one of the most generous, kind people I have met on here. And your lovely well written posts are something we all aspire too. ❤️
A lot falls on the oldest as it seems parents start out trying to make us perfect but give up by the time more children come along. If you were to talk to my much younger sister, it would seem we were raised by different parents. That’s how much they changed in parenting skills.
Oh, it's all a ruse! I'm way worse than you would ever think to be!
I wasn't the oldest, but, I was the oldest girl after three boys, followed by three more then two more girls, way at the end! So, I might as well have been.
I swear, they were raised by somebody else, there is nothing reminiscent in their childhood that sounds like mine. Ha! I can remember taking care of the little kids when I was 9 years old, stayed home from school as my dad had to work and my mother was in the hospital having another baby. I made dinner and everything for the family. When I think of my younger sisters, I have to laugh, knowing that was not in their bag of memories.
Oh, well, I think that it made me a much better person for it. :)
Have a great day, Jo! ❤️