why i knit
in 2002 i had my second child. in 2002 my son was diagnosed with autism. in 2002 my world started to make sense. and all of a sudden, i needed an outlet. i was a jeweler, but not wanting to devote all my time to working in metal again, i started looking for an outlet. a social outlet. my mom suggested knitting.
in january 2004, i took the plunge. i signed up for a class on making a simple felted bag. i bought my yarn and needles, and got ready to learn. within minutes the 2 years i spent knitting in grade school came back to me and i settled in on the sofa to knit away. and i discovered something. while i was knitting i had next to no pain. the constant migraine that had been with me for years was a bit better. and all of a sudden, i had something.
i took off from there. i knit scarves. i knit hats. i knit bags. and then, i knit a sweater. a samll sweater for my daughter. she loved it. and, as my head pain got worse, and medication worked less and less, i knit more and more. i knit in all my spare time, enjoying the process more than anything. i realized that as long as i was knitting, i was largely pain free.
then, another knitting friend wanted to look at spinning wheels. i went along, sat down at one and was hooked. i plotted for months on how to work out the budget to get one, realizing that if i waited until christmas, i could afford a wheel. so, i dreamed of them. i tried them out at every chance. and i convinced my wonderful husband that i didn’t care about jewelry, i just wanted a wheel. i got my lendrum in december of 2004.
now- i am throughly immersed in fiber arts. i have two wheels, fiber stashed in every nook and cranny possible, and my kids pick out yarn for themselves every time we visit a yarn shop. my husband sighs and avoids sitting on wip’s, dodges the wheels in the dark, and puts up with the rabbit. he even will look at patterns and help with color selections. we are putting a sink in the back yard for dyeing, so none of it has to be done inside. a shed is being converted to a workable space for heat setting. our lives are being taken over by fiber. and i have never been happier.
i look forward to my magazines coming every month, to my weekly trips to the local yarn shop to discuss what works, what doesn’t, what to avoid. i have found people that speak my language. i have found where i belong. and that feeling is the greatest in the world. knitting and spinning still help my near constant head pain and allow an outlet for the creativity i have stiffeled sine becomming a mother. i want to spread my love of the art- i want my kids to knit. i want my daughter to pick up the sticks, like her mother, her grandmother, her great-grandmother and her great great grandmother before her. it is a tradition in our family- one that goes back to norway, one that i realize now draws me closer to my ancestors.
and that is why i knit.
Posted on August 11th, 2006 by Pickleboot
Filed under: Community, General
You are lucky that it comes so naturally to you, and that it’s in your genes. In the immediate two generations before me, there is nothing creative whatsoever, or particularly crafty. My mother could hold her own with helping us with little craft kits we got as children but to do something as a hobby? Never. Both my aunts have a bit of a creative crafty side that they tapped into 30-plus years ago, but I don’t think they do much of it anymore as senior citizens (now that they have more time to do it!). Neither of my grandmothers had any skills like that. I can’t say for my great-grandmothers, or generations before that, but I do wonder if there is some little chromosome in the DNA from either side that did have the creative in them that still gets passed down. My brother is an architect, so drawing and doing art-related stuff comes naturally to him. All my sisters and I picked up knitting on our own– I’m the only one that is attempting to learn anything about spinning even. While not considered the most “creative”, I think I am turning into more of the crafty one/DIY girl. I have come to love interior design and all the ramifications from that, and I love to knit now, and always trying to find a cool new pattern and skill to pick up after a year and a half. Still can’t figure out the crocheting– maybe that’s what I need to do while on vacation. It’s cool that you have found your vocation in fiber arts!
Well said! We all need creative outlets, and it is such a blessing to find your own calling. I eel the same way about the fiber arts…keeps me centered and happy. Thanks for writing about it!