Knitting

A little more than three years ago, my youngest sister Laurie taught me how to knit. I had been watching her knit for quite a while, and I could tell that it was something I would enjoy. It has the potential to be somewhat monotonous--making the same stitches over and over and over again--so I knew I would be hooked! (Actually, that would be crotcheting, but that's beside the point.)

It didn't take me very long to catch on. It helped that Laurie was staying with me for a few days, so any spare moment I had, I picked up my needles and started working. And if/when I messed up, Laurie was right there to help me correct my mistake. My first project was a scarf for my husband Kevin, and I am quite proud of it. Since then I have made many, many scarfs, hats, purses, and blankets (mostly baby blankets, which don't have to be very big), and I never get tired of it. Currently I am working on a full-size blanket for Caleb. I finished Callie's a few months ago, and she sleeps under it every night. I'll start on Katie's once Caleb's is finished. They all get really excited about their blankets and ask me often about the progress I'm making (or not making), which makes me feel even better about putting all the time into it.

Knitting is extremely therapeutic for me. It allows me to be creative and productive, but my mind is still free to ponder other things while I am working, since most of my patterns are relatively simple and don't require much concentration. This also works well with being a mom, because I am able to watch, pay attention to, and interact with my kids while simultaneously working on my knitting. And unless I'm working on a blanket that is pretty far along in the process, knitting is a quite portable hobby--very conducive to sitting in carpool lines, waiting during gymnastics/ballet lessons, etc., etc. I really love giving people gifts, so knitting fits in well with that desire, too. There is always something to be made and given away!

One of my favorite escapes from the dailyness of stay-at-home-momhood is to find a corner by myself in a coffee shop or bookstore, plug my ears with worship music coming from my iPod, let my hands work with the yarn and needles, and only take breaks to sip on my coffee (okay, or to people watch).

Laurie, THANK YOU for introducing me to this terribly addicting but incredibly rewarding hobby! I'll never be as good at it as you are, but that's okay.

Everyone else, you can see some of my master teacher's handiwork and read about the knitting process on Laurie's blog at http://greenleafknitting.blogspot.com. Then you can order some of her creations on http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6175044.

I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of knitting tonight while watching the election results come in.