Why Throwing Yarn?

I love doing a variety of crafts.  My craft room/office houses paraphernalia for stamping, scrapbooking, quilling (though not quilting), sewing, counted cross stitching, beading, crocheting, and knitting.  (Yeah, I might need an intervention.)

Since a very young age, I've loved doing various paper crafts; I think my mum, also very crafty, taught me to cut paper snowflakes as soon as I could wield scissors.  She taught me to sew, too.  There were a couple of crafts that she loved (and still loves) that just fascinated me: knitting and crocheting.  I so wanted to learn how, but she couldn't teach me; she's a lefty.  For years, I watched her knit sweaters and mittens and hats, and wished I could follow her lead.  I tried following directions in books, and got absolutely nowhere.  I could crochet a chain, and that was about it.

The summer I turned 15, I spent a week during summer vacation with family friends.  I swam in the lake, picked blueberries, and learned how to knit.  There are a couple of different ways to knit, Continental and English; I was taught the English way.  I still have that first piece kicking around somewhere - kind of a sampler of stitches, about the size of a Barbie blanket.  When I got home from my week away, I dug out a pattern for a stocking cap, and knitted it in rainbow stripes.  I was on my way.

I know that, if you're a regular reader of Throwing Spoons, you're probably assuming that that's why I chose a similar-yet-different name for my crafting blog - and you'd be partially right.   I learned recently that the English method of knitting is sometimes known as "throwing," as you wrap, or "throw" the yarn over the needle.  Voila - the new blog had a name.  So, welcome to Throwing Yarn!