You know that old adage about old dogs and new tricks, well I don’t buy it. Here I am, learning to be a married woman, learning to be a student and still I want to learn more. Late last year, I undertook a photographic assignment on a quid pro quo basis and one of the things I photographed was a basket of knitting paraphernalia. I used one of the out-takes from the shoot on my pbase, commenting that I’d like to know how to knit and my Mum posted a comment saying she’d love to restart knitting after years of not doing it.

I bought her a knitting package from an online knitting supplier and she was away, knitting like there was no tomorrow. Here is the evidence.

So, with a “royal visit” from the folks planned to start today, I popped along to our local knitting wool shop yesterday and bought a set of needles and a ball of wool. I’m hoping that my Mum will teach me some basics that I can practice until her next visit when I can build on these skills.

I kind of like the idea that watching TV could become a useful activity if I can use my hands making something while watching. I’ve tried reading but find I can’t concentrate on that and the goggle box at the same time but I can’t quite feel at ease just watching the telly. It seems like such a waste of time for someone who likes to be busy.

Let’s face it, it can’t be too hard can it? Years ago most women would have knitted to some extent or another simply to clothe their own families. In fact, my Mum tells me that my Nan used to make a little extra money by taking on knitting projects for other people in her village. They’d buy the wool and my Nan would knit it into a jumper, cardi or hat for a small fee for the labour. My Nan knitted until her eyesight deteriorated too much for her to see her stitches, about 3-4 years ago. She must have made hundreds, if not thousands of garments over her lifetime. In fact, my Mum was wearing one of my Nan’s hand-made cardis when they arrived.

It’s the start of a New Year and this lost and found woman is planning to learn new stuff. Whether knitting, biology or chemistry, learning can’t be bad, education is a great panacea. I have, as Jarvis might say, a thirst for knowledge.

It's a long time since I started this project....here is the very beginning.