I'd visit GG & take my knitting along. She'd show me new stitches...give me tips about reading patterns...etc. I remember asking her, "GG, why don't we knit like other people?" Her answer was, "That's how they knit in the Old Country." I must have said, "Oh" and never gave it another thought. Not until I got into genealogy, that is.
WHAT Old Country? ALL of GG's ancestors were in North America more than 250 years ago and before they came to North America they were all from the British Isles.
I decided to do some research about knitting in the Old Country and discovered that GG taught me to do Continental knitting. Thank you, GG! I apologize to any "English/American" style knitter who might find their way to this post, but I can't imagine WHY anyone would do the English style. It looks like so much hard work. And it must take forever to get anything done. GG's Old Country style of knitting goes very quickly and the stitches are uniform.
I'll never know who taught GG to knit. It wasn't her mother, that I do know. Maybe it was her mother-in-law, KK, who DID come from the Old Country [Prussia.] I'd like to think that, because then I'd be knitting just like great-grandma KK!
1 comment:
Being from the old country (Germany) I have to say,
I did learn from my mother to through (english style)
and I bet after 38 years I am just as fast as anyone picking (knitting Continental style), and for years I detested Continental because my aunt (also in Germany) tried to teach me Continental as a child when I was not ready for it. Some years ago (working as a yarn store and teaching others to knit) I got into Continental as a way to knit with both hands for fair isle knitting. I am still an english knitter but refer to continental when needed or when teaching someone with an obvious pull to it.
Keep on knitting (which ever way is most comfortable for you)
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