At the beginning of September, I blogged about a new knitting project that I had started, a tunic from the Interweave publication, Jane Austen Knits Spring 2012 issue. I finished it a few weeks back and finally took some pictures. I wore it for the first time to church last Sunday. It’s one of the first garments I’ve made and I was really pleased with how it turned out.
It’s been an interesting experience to make a piece of clothing entirely by hand. It took about a month to make it, working on it in the evenings in between other projects. In our culture, nearly everything is made by machines – quick and impersonal. Making a garment myself made me feel closer to the women of generations past who knit and sewed all their family’s garments with their own hands. I read once that a skilled dressmaker could handsew a dress in 40 hours. Can you imagine that! It was such a different way of life when sewing and knitting were necessities, not just hobbies as they are now. I think one of the reasons I enjoy knitting so much is its history. When I pick up my needles, I’m one of millions of individuals from ages past, present, and those yet to come, who are all bonded together by the thrill of watching a ball of yarn transform into something lovely and functional right in our hands. It’s pure magic, and our needles are our wands.
Blessings to you,
Sarah
I like the way you say you are bonded to knitters of the past. Great piece of knitting.