This is the third in a series of Knit Luck Origins, knitters telling their learn-to-knit stories. Bina is my knitting buddy. We try to knit together on Friday mornings while our toddlers run around and our infants crawl around. Sometimes I'm lucky if I only get one row knitted, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

How I Learned to Knit

by Bina Barreca

I learned to knit first from my Mom. My first project was an overly itchy scarf knit for my uncle who never wears scarves. I picked up knitting again in college but didn't really have the time/motivation to go beyond the scarf. My only improvement on that theme was choosing softer yarn and more funner colors.

After college I was living in a rainy little seaside town with my thenboyfriendnowspouse and I decided to pick up the needles once again. This time I had an observer and he said: "Why don't you just connect the stitches and make a hat? I mean, how hard could that be?" That got the irritation whirligigs going on in my head for a moment until I realized he was right, yes, it was high time to move on. So off to the library we went pedaling our bikes all the way. We brought home a stack of books which said thenboyfriendnowspouse promptly began to devour. Soon afterwards he had a verdict and her name was June. June Hemmons Hiatt, author of The Principles of Knitting.

From this book we both learned the long tail cast on, and how to connect those stitches and just a few other things. Thenboyfriendnowspouse knit himself a very nice hat and moved on to all of the other non-knitting stuff he does, and I knit a hat and became an addict. Now I almost never knit anything that is not in the round including sweaters. I don't get much knitting time in these days due to our toddler and baby, but I do it whenever I have a free moment. When we spend the Christmas Holiday with the in-laws and I get an extra dose of knitting time while Grandma and Grandpa entertain the kiddos.

My last proud accomplishment actually gets quite a bit of wear by our three year old boy. It was a Wonderful Wallaby pattern from Cottage Creations. I plan to knit more of these someday, as the pattern comes in a booklet form and provides patterns for all sizes. Maybe I will make one for me the next time I have some spare time!