How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?
I’ve been crafty for as long as I can remember. As a kid I often went to craft classes at a local craft store (and I still have many of them, in various states of being scrunched up and glue is coming undone after so many years!). I made friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss. I beaded. I think it was only a matter of time before I found knitting. When I was in graduate school I was still beading, but I was losing interest in it. I had thought about knitting on and off for a while, but only in passing. After September 11, like many people, I decided to get some yarn and needles and a booklet, one of those “OMG I’m knitting!” types of booklets and had a go. A great feature of that booklet was that it had illustrated left-handed instructions! I started with Red Heart yarn, big needles and just knit – one stitch at a time.
I decided to make an afghan for then-boyfriend (now-husband!). Two huge honking garter stitch rectangles. Miles of garter stitch it felt like. Dan was thrilled – and that was it – I was a knitter! We still have and use that afghan too – all i can see are the mistakes, the terrible seam, and I want to make a new one asap. After grad school I slowly built up my stash. I’ve learned there acrylic and there’s acryl-ICK. I knit slippers, beer cozies, a dolphin, a ladybug washcloth… I started a sweater and frogged it and started it again (still have some of that yarn too). 
As I started knitting more and getting better I started learning about the knitting my grandmothers dabbled in – Nana told me about an argyle sock that went on way longer than a sock should be (and that was the end of her knitting) and Gram had acrylic yarn stashed and a few hand-written patterns on index cards. That was surprising to me because I really didn’t see either grandmother indulge in crafty things!
My mom is a crafty one, and soon after I told her about my knitting, she told me that she was trying it too. She even went with me to a knit night at a local library – but she really was still a beginner and it just didn’t take with her like it did with me. Interesting – she hasn’t given me all the yarn and needles in her house, so maybe she’ll pick it up at some point.
I sometimes wish that I could say “Oh yes, my Irish great grandmother taught me the proper Aran cabling” or something like that, but on the other hand I *almost* think it might be more fun to be that to someone else down my family tree that I haven’t even met yet.
knitcroblog1
I think your blanket looks great!
That blanket looks just fine.I hope to be that "expert" knitter to someone else down the line, too.
My mom introduced me to crochet and knitting when I was about 9. Have been "hooked" ever since