“One small step for man…” afghan

This was a scrap yarn blanket, at least at the start. After a bit, I ran out of scraps and actually bought a few skeins. Money was hard to come by. I had to save up to buy a skein of cheap acrylic. I see “Dazzle” in here, and lots of Red Heart is my guess. In my first family, only my grandmother knew how to crochet. Eventually, I taught her to knit.  Gram crocheted the edge on this afghan.

I knitted about twelve inches of this on July 20, 1969, watching on a small black and white TV as the lunar lander approached Tranquility Bay. We were “up north” staying at what was, then, my favorite place in the world. Elk Lake, on the northwest side of Michigan’s lower peninsula. Every summer for all the Julys of my childhood and teen years, we rented Mrs. Zink’s  small cottage for two weeks. If you know the lake, it was at  what is now known as Zink’s Point. We never took a television to the cottage. Why would we? But that year, we made an exception.

July 20, 1969. I knitted and daydreamed while Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. I was 16 years old that summer. I’m 57 now. This is the oldest surviving piece of my knitting. It’s pretty dopey looking, but I treasure it. Elk Lake. Family. Mom, Dad, Gram, Pa, Lee, my brothers. For two long weeks. And during the summer of 1969, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. For a kid, it just couldn’t get any better than that.

5 thoughts on ““One small step for man…” afghan

  1. I just wanted to let you know I am still following your blog since you mentioned it on ravelery, your pictures are so peaceful, I hope to retire in a place 1/2 at serene.

  2. @ Elizabeth, thanks so much for your comment. I am so in love with this peaceful place. I am 57 and hope to retire to Long Lake. For now, its my year-round weekend destination.

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