k is for knitting

You knew what this one was going to be, didn't you?  I've delayed this post for so long, trying to get the artistic shots, the quality photos, but time, energy and the weather are just not cooperating, so I'm just going to get on with it.

I picked up knitting seriously when I found out I was pregnant with Rebecca.  I'd seen this book, and the swing coat on the front just jumped out at me.  I thought it was so adorable, I wanted to wrap my little girl up in it.  I bought an instruction pamphlet from Leisure Arts, grabbed some needles I'd gotten in a huge lot at an estate sale, and some Cranberry Heather Wool-Ease.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I eventually joined a knitting guild, because every time I made an error in my knitting, I wouldn't know how to fix it.  I'd end up having to just rip out the whole entire thing and start over from square one.  It was frustrating to say the least, and the knitting guild helped me immensely.  Since then, it's become sort of a lifeline for me, my monthly getaway, filled with friends who support, commiserate with, inspire and challenge me.

Knitting, for me, is one of the most relaxing crafts.  It's like hand sewing, only I don't have any pieces to precut, seam lines to mark, and anything tiny and sharp to worry about around my little ones.  Oh, I'll make mistakes when I'm sleepy, having to rip back an entire night's worth of work (I should have just gone to bed!), but for the most part, I can really get into a groove, and enjoy listening to (and occasionally glancing up at) my TV show or Netflix movie, and still feel highly productive (sewing up the seams however, is another thing altogether.  But we won't talk about that now).

There are so many projects I want to make.  So many charities I want to help.  So many techniques to try.  Sometimes I get daunted, feeling that I start too many things, have too many unfinished objects lying about.  There's a sock on size 2 needles over there, a pirate in pieces in my orange tote bag, a Christmas gift in the works next to my bed.  And that's just my knitting!  Don't get me started on my crochet, quilt and various other projects in the works.  But, as my sister pointed out last weekend, crafting doesn't really have to be about the finished products.  It's the process, the release of tension and stress, the therapeutic value that is priceless.  So I take a deep breath, allow myself to cast on, and try to let go of the guilt.

Comments

[Beth]

Yea for knitting! Your little one looks so grown up in that picture!

[Junie Moon]

Your knitting projects look wonderful and your daughter is so adorable.

[Kuky]

Let go of the guilt...I so identify with that. Unfinished projects just laying about here too.

Ooh and that pirate is adorable!