Knitting memories

With a new great nephew due soon, I’ve been spending time knitting for him – a hap to wrap him in when he arrives

134/365 Hap flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

A stripy jacket and jester hat from the same pattern I made for his big sister

136/365 Tiny Jester flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

And then, as I was wrapping them carefully in tissue paper to post them to my niece, I remembered that I had picked up some old baby patterns last time I was down south at mum’s – I think this is from the 1960s. I knew Rosie would appreciate me knitting something with a connection to mum.

Knitting pattern flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I chose a pattern that I remembered making many years ago, looked out some pretty pale purple yarn and started knitting. When I copied the pattern (the original is very battered, and I didn’t think it would stand being carried around again), I noticed that it has some of mum’s notations.

Annotations flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

So as I’ve been knitting I’ve felt connected to mum. I’ve been remembering how I’d  sometimes get myself into a state when my knitting went wrong, and throw it down in a temper. How mum would raise an eyebrow and tell me to leave it for another day. And how, the next day, I’d find that she’d picked it up after I’d gone to bed and unpicked the mess I’d made so I could carry on. I started knitting this because I wanted to create a memory for Rosie, and in doing this I’ve spent some happy hours revisiting my own memories.

Thanks, mum. Cardigan all finished and sewn up with ‘vintage’ buttons from my button tin.

Baby Cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I hope Baby Bridges is not allergic to cats, as when I turned around to pack this up, this is what I found.

Cat cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license