Once upon a time, young Dina was the recipient of her grandmother’s knitting needles and yarn. These things were put away as keepsakes for many years, until one day a family friend was over, knitting a hat while visiting. I was intrigued, and he gave me a brief lesson using Grandma’s Susan Bates aluminum needles and very scratchy green (vintage! Orlon acrylic!) Red Heart yarn. I made a very weird triangle-shaped swatch (that last stitch at the end of a row will get you every time if you don’t remember to change your yarn direction!) with many dropped stitches and once the company was gone, put the needles away for another 15 years.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2010. We were visiting family for the holiday and I felt very much “in the way” with all the preparations, so asked my sister-in-law (with whom we were staying and has been knitting since she was 9) to refresh my skills. I remembered some things from my previous indoctrination, but others needed another demonstration, and she was happy to bring another addict knitter into the fold. By the end of the visit, I was knitting my first scarf on a pair of gifted needles and Lamb’s Pride wool. I knit most of the 12-hour-drive home, and have been knitting ever since.