When I was three, and literally sitting at my Grandmother's knee, I learned to knit. I was trying to emulate her excellent work, but it turned into a tangle around the needles she had given me. My grandmother was a Yorkshire lass, who did not suffer fools gladly, or idle hands. She took the tangle from me and started my life-long love of knitting as she patiently taught me what to do.
I am continually amazed (as I was that day at her knee) by the beauty that can come from what I like to call 'two sticks and a string' ....
In my life, I have only knitted for others, and as I have grown, my knitting has become more complex. It used to drive my Mom nuts, when I knitted in the dark watching TV (I still do)...I especially love the seeming complexity of 'aran' knitting. To me it is simplicity itself, but to others, it appears complex. All done with two types of stitches. The quintessential knit and purl.
Because I only knit for others, my heart has been attached to everything I knit. About a decade ago, all my knitting went into storage because in a three year period, I lost all my closest family, including my husband and within 2 years, both my parents.
I had been working on projects for each of them, and until the last few months, had not picked up wool in many years. That all changed 3 months ago, when we acquired a new dog. We already have 2 brother mini-schnauzers, but we got a puppy mini-dachshund who has added a great deal to our life.

His name is Aidan, and he loves us, his new brothers and the camera.
You will see him sitting in the middle of the work I have photographed. He is shameless. He is NOT however, covered with much fur. We live in northern BC, Canada, close to Alaska. He shivered so badly on his first few 'outside visits' I HAD to knit him something. Then the search was on. I dug through boxes of stored 'stuff' that I had not dared touch up till now, because the boxes contained painful memories. His need for warmth easily out-weighed my unwillingness to face the past and consequently, I have picked up my 'two sticks and a string' again. And very happily too. Since that busy day of searching back in November I have knit many dog sweaters for him and other friend's dogs. I have even started again on a project I was working on when Mom died. That little brown being has helped heal some very sore places.
In about two weeks we are getting his cousin, a white mini-dachshund, so you will most likely see a few pics of him as well. Here he is with Mom on the chair and his sister beside them.

I have already knitted a sweater for our new family member even though he is still with his Mommy. I expect I will do a few!
It is great to get back to something I love so much. Now if I could just get my spinning wheel and loom out!