Knitting Keeps The Crazy Away

When Andy and I first got married I had a hard time adjusting to our new home.  Andy and I decided before we got married that I would sell my house and farm and move in with him.  Andy's house was close to where we were both working and it seemed like the logical thing to do.  Little did I know that the people who I thought were my friends decided that forty five minutes would be too far to drive to visit or even meet half way for coffee.  I wound up leaving my job to be a stay at home wife.  Andy was working a lot and our neighborhood isn't exactly Wisteria Lane.  No welcome wagon or anything like that. 

Needless to say I had a lot of spare time on my hands.  Someone suggested that I take up knitting.  It's like the new yoga she said.  It seemed like a good idea and had I learned knitting basics from my maternal Grandmother when I was about sixteen.  I figured this would be an inexpensive (did you fall out of your chair laughing?) hobby and I could make a few Christmas gifts. 

I headed off to the local knitting shop, Suzanne's.  Suzanne greated me warmly and set me up with a book, needles and yarn and off I went.  That yarn turned into a very artistic poncho.  It was supposed to be a scarf, but I had no idea about gauge and was knitting like a maniac. Don't let her website fool you - Suzanne is one of the best knitters Ive ever met.

Seven years later I still knit like a maniac.  Knitting and yarn are everywhere in our house.  I have spare knitting in the car just in case I get stuck waiting somewhere.  The hexipuff project bag is in my purse and right now there is a scarf in progress on the coffee table.  The feel of needles in my hands and they yarn gliding through them has brought me constant comfort.  The challenge of a difficult pattern is like figuring out a puzzle. 

Im working on the Spectra scarf by Stephen West.  It's a fun pattern and really shows off transitional yarns well.  This one is in Breathless Ore and my handspun from Rivers Edge Fiber Arts roving in Popsicle Stick.