Row by Row

For the first time in years, I'm taking up a new hobby. And I'm loving it.

Several months ago, I took a knitting class with two friends. We were all looking for something new to try and had seen how knitting was catching on around our community. We had a great time learning to make felted potholders at Prairie Yarns and tried out some other projects on our own. I finished up two neck cozies for the kids, little neck warmers they can use this winter in place of scarves.

When we saw a knitted purse class offered through community education, we couldn't pass it up. Our same lovely (and patient) teacher at Prairie Yarns walked us through this new project - successfully. In fact, I think my new felted purse is quite possibly the most amazing thing I've ever made with my own two hands - granted, it took my hands, three class sessions and a little felting help later on.

It's that sense of accomplishment that I love most about knitting. It doesn't matter how many times I need to rip out a row, tink out a few stitches or completely start over. Eventually, I create something new out of what was a simple ball of yarn. I didn't buy it. It's not made in China. It's not expensive or trendy. It's just something thoughtfully and beautifully made - by me.

I'm going to need a lot more practice at knitting to ever be good. I'm OK with that. As a perfectionist, it's actually been really helpful for me to knit. I miss stitches. I drop stitches. I create mysterious holes. I get three hours into a project only to discover that I should have used needles two sizes bigger and I need to start anew.

I'm not happy about starting over or doing less than adequate work.

But it's just knitting, so I let it go. I focus on the process and the end product. (Did you know that felting wipes clean almost any error?) I relax and enjoy, loop by loop, letting my fingers guide the yarn. I watch as row by row my project starts to reveal itself and I'm energized as I can envision the final product.

Creation is good for the soul. Even if it's just a little purple felted purse.