I've signed up for a class at my LYS! I'm going to try to meet some other real-life knitters (even though I like all of you best). And I'm going to actually see other people knitting! I'm excited. The class is for making a felted purse, and it includes needle felting. It takes place over the next 3 Thursday evenings. I went and bought a deliciously lovely skein for the purse and it got me all giggly.
I'm not sure what has kept me from doing this before. I think because I've been mostly self taught, other than my first lesson (Love you, Berit!), I've maybe felt someone was going to tell me I'm doing it wrong? You know what, I don't even think that's it. I think I've wanted to go back to the days of the Crafty Beavers.
What? I've never told you about the Crafty Beavers? Well, back when I was leaving my Ph.D. program, a couple of my grad student friends, Megan and Jodi, and visiting scientist from Norway, the famous Berit, and I got together to drink tea and bitch. It was near my birthday and they'd gotten me the most delicious birthday card with Aragorn on the front (He's so handsome, especially the dirtier he gets; I could eat Viggo Mortenson for dessert). They drew all over the envelope and had so much fun they decided we should get together regularly to do crafty things. My friend Emily had named her all-girl, crazy-law-school-competition-thing team the Crafty Beavers. It seemed to fit our little group, so I blatantly stole Emily's clever name. So every Sunday for a few months we got together and did stuff like make beads, paint our toenails and learn to knit. It was a group of women who were my friends and with whom I had a lot in common. They were my age, and they knew me well. None of the Beavers live here anymore. They've either gone back to Norway or gotten their Ph.D.s and moved to other states.
I hate to say this, but I guess I felt I was too young and hip for the LYS. I've never seen anyone in there my age- or maybe I have and I just don't realize I'm over 30 now. Why have I made such a big deal of this in my head? I've been against this whole "It's not your grandma's knitting" thing because I think it belittles the women who've passed these crafts on to us. So what's my deal?
Maybe I'm used to older women being more conservative. I'm not tatooed or pierced or anything that I'm worried would cause people to draw unfounded, incorrect conclusions. Maybe it's that oldest child, uber-responsible thing coming out, and I feel I have to be respectful by not saying anything controversial (which is something I do). I'm not sure what I think is going to come up, but I've got something of a potty mouth (especially lately) and I tend to talk about things like porn or ultra-liberal causes I'm championing. Maybe I've been as prejudiced as I accuse others of being. Or maybe I've still got this age means authority thing and I'm still afraid of getting a bad mark on my permanent record! How did I get this far, with my rebellious mind and childhood training constantly at odds?
Well, no more. I'm going to go knit with whomever shows up, and if I drop an f-bomb or something I'll just have to move on from there. Most women rock, and I'm sure these women will be no different! Me and my little ideas in my head. Ugh.
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4 comments:
It's funny what weird things we worry about. I'm sure you'll do fine, you're a big girl now, I bet you can keep your potty mouth in check if you want to =)*)
Okay, you'll have fun in the class - as long as you're not the only person IN the class (my sad LYS class story...) you'll be fine, I'm not worried.
But wow - we could seriously hang out and have fun! I sense a kindred sassy spirit and someday, when we both make it back to Minnesota (my homing device has forced me to apply for more than one job this year) we must knit together. We must.
Have a blast and just be yourself!
I love your thoughts on "it's not your grandmother's knitting". I am also an eldest child, and will forever live with the syndrome. But guess what?? I'm a grandmother, and forget about the age means authority thing, I have the self confidence of a pea. All grandmothers are not the same, I don't feel like a grandmother, not sure what that's supposed to feel like----OLD??? When I see pictures of my grandmother, I think Lord she looks old and that was when I was born and she was about 40!!! She looked like a cute roly-poly grandma with magnificent gray hair which she wore in a french twist during the day and braided at night, when I was 19 (you do the math. I'm tall, short blonde hair (okay, so I help the gray), I'm not roly-poly and my clothes are usually from Ann Taylor or Banana Republic. If a grandmother shows up, she might just surprise you. I love your blog, and I intend to make it part of my daily reading.
P.S. Find me some other knitting, crocheting, baking grannies in cyberspace............PLEASE.
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