When I first got the urge to blog, it was born out of the need to document my craft projects. Except now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve talked about any crafting besides quilling. Which probably leads you all to believe that I spend my days twirling bits of construction paper and gluing them together. And you would be right to assume this, because that is just how exciting my life is. But wait, it gets much more exciting. I hope you’re ready for this. I hope you’re sitting down…

I knit too. Yes, it’s true. The 80 year-old granny in me has been yelling at me for forever to learn how to knit. Of course, since 80 year-old grannies can’t really yell that loud, I was able to ignore it for years. But then E’s friend, E2, offered to teach me, and who was I to say no? There was yarn to be touched, needles to be purchased, knitting to be learned! I could not deny my inner granny this skill any longer.

Above you will see my very first knitting project. It’s a (wait for it) scarf!

A very long scarf. Started and finished this past January.

I know this is heavy stuff. I understand if you have to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths before you read more. It’s ok, I’ll wait for your heart rate to come back down to normal.

So anyway, the first time I stepped into a yarn shop was to buy the yarn for that scarf. I was with E2 and she was patient as I stood there trying not to faint from being overwhelmed at the prospect of having to pick one skein out of the entire store to take home with me. Up until that moment, I had not even known that yarn shops even existed, much less in the city. Thus began my newest obsession.

It started out very innocently with just one skein of yarn.

Then it got a little out of control.

I’m much too embarrassed to show you my entire stash. Let’s just say there’s a lot of it (especially the purple stuff — what is with me and purple anyway?), and not a day goes by that I don’t curse myself for telling my inner granny to shut up and enjoy the paper twirling. At least construction paper costs pennies compared to yarn. And don’t even get me started on the cost of knitting needles (or how many pairs I now own…).

But I can’t deny the incredible sense of accomplishment I feel after the last stitch is cast off and I can admire the fact that this functional, beautiful item in my hand was once a ball of string. Since finishing the scarf, I’ve made (surprise) a few more scarves, cowls, leg warmers, gloves. I tried a hat once but it was a disaster. I hope to knit a sweater one day, but my skills aren’t quite there yet. Here’s a scarf I started for E that I meant to finish this winter but never did because I got too excited about knitting gloves:

Here’s the cozy I knit for my camera.

Can you tell I have a problem with purple? And purple yarn? Mmmm, purple. I love purple. And yellow tulips. And sunshine.

Whuh? Oh, sorry, I drifted off in a daydream for a little bit there.

So anyway, there you have it. I’m more than just a quilling freak. I’m a knitting freak too. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a certain green and white scarf sitting on my window sill, asking to be finished before warmer weather arrives. What’s that you say? It’s 70 degrees out today? It’s going to be 70 degrees again tomorrow? It’s springtime? Well, at least it’ll be done by the time winter comes around again. I hope.