Lu-Lu Knits

When I met with my agent last weekend, my daughter came along with me.  She is nine years old, a serious reader and budding knitter.  She's also a lover of tea, so there wasn't anything at Yarn & Tea that she didn't love.  While Linda and I chatted and enjoyed our tea, Lindsay would fetch back various treasures from the sale baskets around the store to the table where we were sitting.  One of the things she found was this delicious Debbie Bliss, at half price, no less.  Linda bought all they had in yellow, and I scored a matching batch in lilac.  I got Liddy this, as a finder's fee.

But what I really loved was that 1.  Lu-Lu (we rarely use her real name, for some reason, and she answers to anything that starts with L) HAD to start knitting this right away, for which she needed some new size 8's, and 2.  She agreed with me that these are the perfect needles for knitting salmon-pink cashmere on.  I mean really - when I was nine I would have killed for needles like this.  I am so lucky to have this dear young knitter in my house, who assures me that I will get a turn with them just as soon as I finish the book.  She is a stern task-master.  Meanie. 

I may sneak a few stitches while she sleeps, if I find I need a reminder of what it was like to discover knitting.  I used to take my mom's needles and whatever stash yarn she didn't care about, climb the cherry tree in the front yard and knit until my butt fell asleep on the hard branch that was my favorite spot.  I taught myself to cast on in the embrace of that cherry, and all my early work had bits of bark and moss in it from the ascent to my knitting branch.  The descent was easier, of course.  Just let go, fly, and hope to stick the landing.

I have no idea when I stopped knitting in trees.  It was probably around the time I discovered boys, and if it was, I would like to state for the record that it was an extremely misguided decision. 

I think I am ready to find myself a new knitting tree, though I will probably have to bring a ladder along.  And maybe Lottie will come with me, and try not to die of embarrassment.  She's pretty charitable that way.