Sunday, September 28, 2008

Pumpkin Sweater easy to knit


Trick or Treat time is coming and I found the Jack-O-Lantern sweater I knit for my son Parker when he was 2 years old. He was so dang cute in it. Everywhere we went, people would stop me and ask me where I got his darling sweater. It was so cute because no one had ever seen anything like it. That was because I created it and made it up! Parker was too young to fight my designing efforts, and happily wore my crazy creations, every holiday until he was 5. He had a sweater for every major holiday; Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and St. Patricks Day.


I had more fun making up those holiday sweaters and that is what sparked the beginning of my pattern writing. It is one thing to knit and design a sweater, which is the easy part for me, the writing of the directions for others to follow, is a different story.

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Lime'n coconut sweater is finished!


We were rushing out the door to drive to Southern Utah, I grabbed my knitting bag with my needles and went to my stash to grab whatever yarn I had handy. I eyed the brown, that works, and the white was the next choice. It needed something to spice it up. The lime green shouteed to me, "Pick Me". Oooooo the possibilities. I didn't have enough for a large sweater and so the small one was the answer. Will a child really wear these colors? Maybe if the mom is crazy, I'm crazy and I love to put bright and unusual colors on my kids.

You know you are knitting something wierd when no one makes comments about it. They look at it, look at you and don't say a word. I was a little worried at first, then the sweater began to progress and I was tickled at the outcome. I will hopefully have the pattern available on my website when I get it written up. http://www.onepieceknitting.com/ Enjoy and knit up those leftovers, they work!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

School Teacher Needs Therapy

I'll admit, there are days when I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I embarked on a career of teaching junior high. There has to be an easier way to earn a living than this? The deep down and honest truth is, I love it. It's one of those love/hate relationships, you love it, but there are parts you hate. I've taught junior high for 27 years and am facing retirement some day and don't know if I want that to happen. I love teaching and even more, I love this age group.
I teach Health, and if that isn't an interesting subject to teach to a bunch of over active, hormonal, diarrhea of the mouth, insecure and wonderful kids, I don't know what is.
Try teaching Sex Ed. to this age group and wonder why at the end of the day you feel a little crazy.
My one form of relaxation and "therapy" is my knitting. I curl up on the couch with my knitting needles and yarn and my hands cradle the sweater I'm knitting and my fingers take off as if on auto pilot. Thoughts of the day melt out of my mind and problems that linger are somehow solved as I knit and think and the two together seem to find answers for them. It's as if I'm weaving a solution in my mind as I wrap the yarn and knit row after row. My knitting increases and my patience and relaxation seem to follow the same pattern.
So maybe I don't need therapy as long as I have my knitting.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Love Knitting

I'm not crazy, I just love to knit. It is like my security blanket, I always have it with me. Waiting for kids, sitting at red lights (no, not while driving), watching TV, waiting on the phone listening to those obnoxious recorded messages, I knit! I cannot just sit and do nothing. I knit so obsessively that if I don't have it, people will questions me and ask me "what's wrong"? It's like my own personal trademark, but what better way to be known than for a hobby that produces a product that is actual useful.

My favorite items to knit are sweaters, big ones, little one, sweaters of many colors, textures, shapes and designs. Speaking of designs, I receive even greater pleasure from this craze, by creating my own patterns and designs. Colors are like the palate for an artist and can be combined in any form to create a one of a kind sweater. Some of my favorites were knit using nothing but leftovers and colors you would never think to combine.

My husband loves me with and without my knitting. He knows that if I am knitting, I am happy and doing what I enjoy. He accepts me for what I am, a crazy obsessive knitter who is not really crazy, but creative. Over the past 28 years, I have discovered that knitting is by far cheaper as a form of therapy, than a Psychiatrist.