Well, here I am. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I swore that I would never have a blog. It seemed too public, too much sharing, too much attention. But then I was re-bitten by the knitting bug, as it were, and I’ve become immersed in creating with yarn and hooks and needles. I see those wonderful knitting journals and read about keeping them, but my life is such chaos and my writing so illegible, that I know that I would never sit down with one and a pen and write enough to make it a valuable exercise.
I first learned to knit in college – 25 years ago. I don’t remember how I learned, whether I took a class or taught myself. But I made the requisite scarfs for boyfriends and even a few sweaters for myself. Then came graduate school, and I put knitting aside, along with just about everything else in my life that wasn’t academia related.
Fast forward 25 years – I’m now a 44 year old mom of two young boys with autism. When ds #1 was born, I really got into scrapbooking and stamping. I was able to do that “unassisted” for about 18 months, after which I could only scrap and stamp at night after the kids went to bed. So, needless to say, I haven’t been able to craft as much as is therapeutic for me.
I frequent a scrapbooking site that has a NSBR (not scrapbook related) board and there I came across the weekly knit and crochet threads. I started reading them and looking at everyone’s pictures with envy. I don’t know what finally pushed me, but I decided it was time to pick up yarn again. I first taught myself crochet, and then picked up the knitting needles again. It is wonderful to be able to knit and crochet while the boys are awake and I can easily move it from room to room with me as I supervise them.
I can finally craft again.
So here I am. Using a blog as a journal for my knitting and crochet, and maybe a little bit of life thrown in.
Here is a throw that I made out of Homespun by Lion Brand with their free pattern – it is my first large crochet project. The yarn was sometimes a PITA to work with, but the end result is great. It is very soft, machine washable (a necessity in my house) and has a comforting heavy weight to it (a big plus in a throw/afghan, in my book). Click on the picture for a link to the free pattern at the Lion Brand site.
