Beads & knitting

The introduction

Beads are really good things and if you love doing things on your own and making some things and stuff like that, that is just perfect for you. You know, there are many places where you can find beads and other stuff related to that. My aunt always shops for those and especially she knows knitting and she often goes shopping for knitting things and stuff like that and, I guess, that’s how I know about beading and knitting and everything in the first place, I mean, she used to knit in front of me and, of course, I got interested and she taught me some things about knitting, which I remembered ever since and I use it now and I’m really grateful to her for that, because knitting is a very important thing, which anyone can use anytime and do some great things for themselves or for others. You can even make something to give to somebody else as a gift or whatever and it’s really good anytime anywhere, if you ask me.

So, I was just a little kid when my aunt taught me some basics of knitting and I used to exercise on that and got pretty good at it, I can say. Well, I didn’t knit anything really, I mean, a sock or a jacket or anything else, but I used to practice and that’s how I got good at it. Also, I helped my aunt from time to time and I used to knit some rows on that thing she was knitting and so on and so forth. You know, everything comes with the practice and that’s what I did.

Well, a year ago I decided that I wanted to make some knitted clothes for myself and I went ahead to buy some stuff for my knitting experience and start making a jacket, because I really wanted to knit a jacket that I liked and how I wanted it to be exactly. And while I had some ideas, I still wasn’t sure about some details, but I thought that I would make something out of it and then decide the exact design step by step and it would be pretty easy that way, because sometimes you think you know what you want exactly, but then you realize that it wasn’t really what you want anymore and then you start redesigning stuff and rethinking and, you know how it goes!

Finding a knitting shop

The first thing I did was to ask where I could buy some stuff for knitting. Well, I didn’t really ask around, but that would have been a great idea, because that way I would find them more easily. And while I didn’t do that, I had to wander in the streets of Tbilisi and wonder where knitting shops might be. You know, there are many shops like that in Tbilisi as I discovered, and there were some of them that I used to see when I was going by bus somewhere and they were just across the street and they were easily seen, but when I actually needed them, I couldn’t remember any of their locations or even any of them! That’s just hilarious, don’t you think?

Well, I just knew one knitting shop that I was sure about. It’s located on Pekini avenue near the cross from Mitskevichi somewhere. That shop is full of many things, including knitting materials, decorative stuff, beads, buttons, laces, etc. However there are always so many people in it and there’s just not enough space for everyone and that’s what I don’t like about that shop. Despite everything, I still went there to see what they had and what prices there were. It was okay. Then I went to look for other shops like that. It turned out, that two shops like that one were nearby my apartment, but that I didn’t find out until late and until I had wandered many places around Tbilisi. I even was on Station square, where I did find something like that, but there were not many things and everything was just not what I wanted.

Another store I found on Baratashvili underground. There were two stores actually there and they had many things about knitting and stuff like that and the atmosphere was really nice, too, so that I bought some things there for my first jacket and was pretty pleased, if you want to know the truth, because the pricing was not too high and the store keepers were nice to their customers.

Then when I came to another shop which was nearby my apartment, I realized, that there were just enough things to buy for knitting and that I didn’t need to travel further away for anything that I was going to need in future or something like that. So that, I chose to buy things in that store ever since. They have so many things, except for pendants and things like that, which I like to buy and then I make some necklaces from them, you know. I really like doing things on my own and when it’s done by me, I just love them more, than those ones that I have bought which are already made by someone or something. When I do things, I do them my way, the way I want them to be and when buying things, it’s not always exactly the way you want them to be, so that it’s just better when you do that. Although, sometimes you can not do things just the way some machine could do or some professional, of course, and sometimes you struggle with fulfilling your decision, but that’s okay, sometimes you will fail and sometimes you will succeed, that is the life and that’s what I read somewhere long time ago and I don’t really remember where I read it, but it doesn’t matter that much now, I guess. But you can always google things and see who said it or where it could have been written and stuff like that.

Anyways, I bought grey knitting stuff there for my jacket. Well, technically, it came out that it was supposed to be for another jacket, as it didn’t really fit with each other the knitting clothes that I had bought earlier and the other grey one, which I bought some time later. So that, I would have two different jackets and I wasn’t really bothered about it.

So, I started knitting. The first thing was to make a start point and that was the most difficult thing for me, I guess, because I haven’t got used to making this first stuff. And when I overcame that obstacle, then everything came just fine and I knitted my jacket very quickly and I was kind of shocked by that, if you want to know the truth. But since everything went fine, I wasn’t whining or something like that. It was just that it still needed some time, as knitting a jacket for somebody who is not very small or something like that, needs larger size of jacket and that is what consumes your time, you know, knitting all the way up to the back and then you have to knit two fronts and then if you want your jacket to have sleeves, you need to knit not one, but two sleeves, and this all takes time. But then, when you see the final result, you get pleased and you are proud that you made it.

Source

Well, to tell you the truth, I knitted my jackets probably the whole December and January and had not finished them yet. I don’t mean to scare you, it’s just that I didn’t knit them all day long, of course, I had lectures at the university and then I studied for the next day and during my free time, I used to knit. It was not very long day, though, of course, because the days are shorter in winter and everything is dull and sometimes you just don’t want to do anything. But at the same time, you can knit and that is a great thing. Now I get what they feel when grandmothers sit on their chairs next to a fireplace or whatever and knit and knit and knit. It’s just relaxing and when you are experienced, the knitting process just seems to be nothing like a struggle, but vice versa. So you get this relaxing feeling and at the same time, you are doing something, you are making something and you are not just sitting there without doing anything at all.

So, I knitted one jacket, without sleeves and I knitted the other one’s front sides and they were grey and then I wondered, what if the back was yellow or something like that, so I went to the shop and started looking at those knitting materials. Yellow ones were really vivid and I just liked them, so I decided to knit my jacket with yellow, too, and I bought it. The back of that grey jacket I knitted in yellow and then I mended everything together and it was pretty good, if you want to know the truth. And, also, I decided that it needed sleeves, too, and that was when I started knitting its sleeves and I kind of struggled in that, so that I had to destroy it several times and knit it again and while doing that I could have just knitted the whole sleeve, you know, and when I realized that, I was pretty frustrated, but the willing was still in me to make something great and I just couldn’t give up on that. So I continued knitting.

You know, the very winter was starting, I mean, the cold and stuff like that and the winter vacation was coming, too, and we had exams and my knitting then stopped, because I couldn’t make time for it anymore.

Are you wondering what happened to my jackets? Well, they are just like that, one waiting for another winter to be worn and the other one is waiting for me to finish it somehow sooner or later. Well, don’t worry, I will finish it, but not now, I guess, because it needs some time and right now I don’t have much time to make for knitting. And I think, knitting in summer is not something one would like. But, hey, what you know?! One day maybe I will stand up and maybe I will have this feeling wanting to finish my knitting and maybe I will finish it and that will be it and I will be so proud, that my adrenaline will rush.

There’s this thing, too, I looked for different knitted stuff on Internet and there were many of them, which I liked, and wanted to knit them, but I don’t know now. There are so many things I like, including jackets, sweaters, tops, etc. and I can’t knit them all, however they are really beautiful and I just want to have them made by me. If it didn’t need that much of a time, I would just go ahead and knit them all, I guess, that’s how much I liked some of them. And the knitting technique was not that difficult, too, I guess. Well, mostly it was not, and there were some details, which needed more attention or a help from a professional or more experienced person in knitting.

There’s another thing, my mother liked another jacket that she saw on Internet and she wanted me to make my jacket like that, but I don’t know whether or not that can be done. But she was pretty persistent. It was kind of different thing from my jacket and its style, so I didn’t really know how to manage this making my jacket totally different, but I don’t know, maybe it’s possible. You know, my mother does these impossible things and she does them pretty well, and you’ll be just amazed how well she can handle those stuff, and, well, maybe she can do that, too. At least, she said to let her do that and she will. But I haven’t decided yet what to do. Perhaps, it can be a good idea, if I just finish my jacket already and start knitting another one, just like the one my mother liked, and so that she won’t have to make something from something, rather than having it done by other. That won’t be a bad idea, if you ask me. It will just need time and willing to do it. However, I guess, it’s better if I finish this one and then think about other stuff.

Well, that was my story about me deciding to knit and how I got something done in it. And, trust me, I’m not going to give up and I’m going to finish my jacket and it will be lovely and everyone will like it!

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