Needle Interuptus

Yes, I'm still here. I just had a short term of "needle interuptus." Here I was planning on writing a blog entry to introduce everyone to the menagerie I call home and what happens? Well, let's just say it ended up with a trip to the doctor and a tetanus shot. That's never good. Would you believe that both the doctor and my husband didn't understand that the worst part of the whole incident was my inability to knit for several days?
It all started when I decided to adopt new pets. (I don't mean I was getting rid of old ones) Those of you who do this know that animal adoption becomes an ongoing process. Within the last year, two of our cats needed to be "put to sleep." It wasn't an easy decision to make, but they were 14 and 17 years 0ld, and it was time. They were both from the local Shelter, so when I felt ready to bring new cats into our household, which at that point consisted of one dog and one cat, I went to a local Rescue organization for cats. (Yes, I like a large household, why do you ask?)
I ended up bringing home two cats. (They adopted me; it happens every time) One was older because he is the twin brother of the cat I already have (it's a long story) and the other was a four-month-old kitten. The kitten had been rescued just a few days earlier and was quite shy. She would growl when I tried to pick her up, but she calmed down when I held her. This wasn't uncommon with the rescue cats.
Over time I thought that both cats were adjusting pretty well to the family. They seemed to get along with both the other cat and the dog. They were eating well. All went okay until it was time to take the kitten to the vet. My husband (who is also my lifetime BFF) helped me chase her all over the house until we had her cornered behind the television. My BFF reached for the back half of the cat and I reached for the front. Which is how I ended up with three sets of kitten bites in my left thumb and my BFF ended up with bloody arms. We never made it to the vet.
Sadly I contacted the Rescue organization and told them that this particular kitten was not for us. They understood, and came and got her that day. It's the first time I had to return an animal that I had promised to raise. But I will adopt again; just not immediately. I'm going to wait at least until I finish all the antibiotics.

A Simple Little Hobby

So how does a little hobby become something that takes over your life, and become that which you cannot live without? Or "how I learned to knit." I started this knitting process some 5 years ago when I went into my boss's office one day and said, "okay, I give up; show me how to knit." If memory serves, about 20 seconds later, I was holding a pair of straight needles and a ball of wool. She showed me the long-tail cast on and suggested that I knit a basic garter knit scarf (although she didn't call it that) She had me cast on 12 stitches which, as I was a beginning knitter took up about an inch of the needle. (I believe we got out a magifying glass to count the stitches) She suggested that I try again holding the yarn in a somewhat more relaxed fashion, and maybe I should breathe at the same time (she wasn't the first person to suggest this to me). Eventually I produced a row of acceptable stitches and tackled the reverse row. I heard for the first time the famous line, "the beginning row can be a little tight," as I tried to stick the needle back through the stitches. And so I knit a scarf. It was ugly.

Imagine how rich I would be today if I had stopped myself after that first row. Because it's not about the wool or the needles (or all the other bits and bobs that you find you must also have), but it's about that first ugly scarf. I have now knit hundreds of projects and have hundreds more on my Ravelry queue. But I still need to rectify that first ugly scarf. The perfect project is out there, I just know it. And I'm going to find it no matter how much it costs or how long it takes; after all, it's only a simple little hobby.

Welcome to the Fiber House

Welcome. Feel free to step around the project bags and magazines. Yes, there are some great new knitting ideas in that one. Oh, you noticed that my office is conveniently located on my dining table. Did you know that some of the best of my writing ideas occur when I'm eating? (Or that I get hungry when I'm writing? I'm not sure how that works)

As you may have noticed in the title, I am either a talking knitter or a knitting talker, something of an accomplishment at times. I live surrounded by my adopted "children" the dogs and cats who are slowly teaching me, much in the way my son did as he was growing up, to look at the world in new ways, i.e. yarn is for licking and it's more fun when everything is on the floor.

I started knitting a few years ago after I noticed how much fun my friends were having, and promptly fell down the rabbit hole in love with the whole fiber lifestyle. Now my husband has learned that there are times when should not speak to me when he walks into the house and sees that I am counting stitches. He has graciously accepted that we live in a house that could easily be the best insulated one in the neighborhood (based on the insulation properties of wool). (I told him that is what a stash is for and if you see him don't disabuse him of that!)

Anyway, as time goes on I plan (ha!) to tell the stories of my knitting and my "family" and I hope you enjoy them. I also hope to put pictures in here when I can figure that whole technological thing out. Thanks for "listening."