For any that might read this I thought I would share a little bit about me.
My name is Lindsey and I live in Arkansas. My family moved here from Illinois about 9 years ago for a job opportunity for my husband. That move also included a change from me working full time to being a full time mom to our then, 3 year old daughter. This was a whole new world for me! Fast forward a bit to us deciding to homeschool her, which would be my job. I eventually settled in for my role as house manager & teacher but something was missing. My day consisted of taking care of all things in the home, teaching my daughter & doing all errands so my husband wasn't burdened with any of that after working all day. I actually loved it, I felt in complete control of my surroundings, but when it came to myself, the only 'fun' I was partaking of was watching my daughter on a playdate next to other moms which I felt I had nothing in common with, and watching tv. I started feeling alot of stress and anxiety, which runs in my family, and had no idea how to cope with it.
One day my husband said, 'you have nothing for yourself, you need to find a hobby'. Ok, well how do you go find a hobby? I went to, you guessed it, Hobby Lobby, figuring I'd walk around and be inspired. I noticed they had a book at the front of the store with different classes they offered, so I glanced through them all. There were 2 crafts that caught my eye, cake decorating and crochet. (I don't remember seeing any knitting classes at the time) I thought if I do cake decorating I'd have to make cakes all the time and cakes in my house all the time would not be good, so crochet it was. Every Saturday for 2 months I showed up and sat for a couple hours while I learned and chatted with other crafters, of varying ages. This was it, I found my people! I enjoyed it so much I dredged through all week to get to Saturday and my class. I felt I had mastered my crochet stitches enough that I just kept learning through books and videos at that point. Although my first substantial project, a bag I made for my beach vacation, I realized I didn't understand what weaving in the ends meant. 😲
I crocheted for 4 years before I started knitting. (Interestingly, my husband during this time watched YouTube videos and learned to knit - granted he is still working on the same blanket he started, but he technically learned before me) There seemed to be so many more patterns for knitting instead of crochet, even when I discovered Ravelry I saw this to be the case. So after a few different attempts I finally picked up the knitting. I don't remember exactly how long I've been knitting, it's been a few years though.
Items of successful knitting: fingerless gloves, dishcloths, blankets, socks (I just finished my first pair), tank top, shawls (lace ones are my favorite), hats, scarves, cowls
Items I am attempting to learn but haven't finished yet: sweaters, beading with my knitting, brioche
Knitting (and I still sometimes crochet) helps me relax, it is my anxiety blocker and now within the last year I have become an extreme knitter, where I always have knitting with me wherever I go so I can knit.... at a restaurant waiting for dinner, at the movie theater (only before the show, I haven't mastered knitting in the dark yet), when I'm stopped at a train track, at the doctor's office waiting room, and yes, even when hanging out at friend's houses. Thankfully, my friends don't find offense at this. Although there are sometimes I do put down the needles, I promise! If I'm dining with friends my rule is if others are looking at their phone then I have my knitting out, but if people are making an effort to not have their phones out I should also put mine away, I mean, I've always told my daughter if other kids have devices out then she can, otherwise she needs to socialize, so I figure I should have the same rule. This is my story. I love hearing how others got into knitting, especially those that weren't so lucky to have been taught by their mother or grandmother.
How did knitting find you?
My name is Lindsey and I live in Arkansas. My family moved here from Illinois about 9 years ago for a job opportunity for my husband. That move also included a change from me working full time to being a full time mom to our then, 3 year old daughter. This was a whole new world for me! Fast forward a bit to us deciding to homeschool her, which would be my job. I eventually settled in for my role as house manager & teacher but something was missing. My day consisted of taking care of all things in the home, teaching my daughter & doing all errands so my husband wasn't burdened with any of that after working all day. I actually loved it, I felt in complete control of my surroundings, but when it came to myself, the only 'fun' I was partaking of was watching my daughter on a playdate next to other moms which I felt I had nothing in common with, and watching tv. I started feeling alot of stress and anxiety, which runs in my family, and had no idea how to cope with it.
One day my husband said, 'you have nothing for yourself, you need to find a hobby'. Ok, well how do you go find a hobby? I went to, you guessed it, Hobby Lobby, figuring I'd walk around and be inspired. I noticed they had a book at the front of the store with different classes they offered, so I glanced through them all. There were 2 crafts that caught my eye, cake decorating and crochet. (I don't remember seeing any knitting classes at the time) I thought if I do cake decorating I'd have to make cakes all the time and cakes in my house all the time would not be good, so crochet it was. Every Saturday for 2 months I showed up and sat for a couple hours while I learned and chatted with other crafters, of varying ages. This was it, I found my people! I enjoyed it so much I dredged through all week to get to Saturday and my class. I felt I had mastered my crochet stitches enough that I just kept learning through books and videos at that point. Although my first substantial project, a bag I made for my beach vacation, I realized I didn't understand what weaving in the ends meant. 😲
I crocheted for 4 years before I started knitting. (Interestingly, my husband during this time watched YouTube videos and learned to knit - granted he is still working on the same blanket he started, but he technically learned before me) There seemed to be so many more patterns for knitting instead of crochet, even when I discovered Ravelry I saw this to be the case. So after a few different attempts I finally picked up the knitting. I don't remember exactly how long I've been knitting, it's been a few years though.
Items of successful knitting: fingerless gloves, dishcloths, blankets, socks (I just finished my first pair), tank top, shawls (lace ones are my favorite), hats, scarves, cowls
Items I am attempting to learn but haven't finished yet: sweaters, beading with my knitting, brioche
Knitting (and I still sometimes crochet) helps me relax, it is my anxiety blocker and now within the last year I have become an extreme knitter, where I always have knitting with me wherever I go so I can knit.... at a restaurant waiting for dinner, at the movie theater (only before the show, I haven't mastered knitting in the dark yet), when I'm stopped at a train track, at the doctor's office waiting room, and yes, even when hanging out at friend's houses. Thankfully, my friends don't find offense at this. Although there are sometimes I do put down the needles, I promise! If I'm dining with friends my rule is if others are looking at their phone then I have my knitting out, but if people are making an effort to not have their phones out I should also put mine away, I mean, I've always told my daughter if other kids have devices out then she can, otherwise she needs to socialize, so I figure I should have the same rule. This is my story. I love hearing how others got into knitting, especially those that weren't so lucky to have been taught by their mother or grandmother.
How did knitting find you?
I love a good how I came to knit story. I am a self taught knitter. I learned about 11 years ago while on the road as a truck driver with my hubby. Fast forward 8 years later we were off the road, I was about to have my second kid and I loved being a stay at home mom but... I needed to be challenged some more. I had the opportunity to get more into the yarn industry and it’s been so much fun. I love to knit lace shawls too and this year started knitting socks. I’m addicted now and have begun to design patterns.
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