The Crafting Journey

 I decided to try something different. I have not blogged for a long time, but I miss it. I miss sharing my thoughts and struggles. More recently, I have been crafting, and that has prompted me to share a new direction for the blog- Presenting... (drumroll) My Crafting Journey.

I am a knitter. My grandma taught me how when I was really young. She taught me English knitting, though she herself knit continental. At my young age, continental was really confusing for me (and even still) so I learned the English way. 

I only learned how to knit. She cast on for me, and eventually cast off. So I made a small scarf (dolly size) and a blanket for my Barbie bed. 

I put down knitting until my early 20s, and then decided I should try again. That was before the internet- so I bought a book and learned how to knit and purl, and how to cast on and off. The first thing I made was a lap blanket for my mom (it was ugly). I used navy yarn and an ivory yarn- but I didn't know anything about yarn weight, so one part was chunky and the other part was thin. However, even though this project was far from perfect, I had a new hobby and decided to continue.

Fast forward 20+ years, and I knit every day. I have learned so much, not just about knitting and techniques, but also about myself and patience. It is okay to frog! (I always find it funny when new knitters don't know the slang, but frogging is when you take out everything you have knit- when you "rip it, rip it, rip it"- sounds like frog).

Not too long ago, I made a shawl. It was beautiful in the picture and was a pretty easy knit- then suddenly it wasn't. I had to take out several rows because somewhere I added stitches or didn't have enough- I frogged more times than I am willing to admit. I didn't give up. So many of my problems as a knitter are just counting problems. This frustrates me to no end- counting is so elementary but one distraction or even a thought can throw off the entire row. 

Again, I learned patience. I didn't give up even though I frogged a lot. To have the shawl turn out just like the picture spurred me on and made me determined to finish well. 

Knitting is a journey. We are all at different places in our crafting journeys; whether we knit, crochet, sew, or pursue other hobbies- we are makers and the journey is just as important as the finished objects. Crafting can be addictive, but therapeutic. I encourage you, wherever you are at in your crafting journey, keep on keeping on, keep making, because practice makes progress and there can be so much joy in the journey! 

Happy Crafting,

Melanie