When Michael and I moved to North Carolina almost 7 years ago, I was friendless, jobless, homeless (well, almost - but that's another story), but not hopeless. I was excited for this new adventure in our lives, for what the future would hold, for what we do and accomplish here.
On this list:
*Michael getting his MBA (the reason we moved here in the first place)
*Shelley getting her law degree (not from the school she had originally intended, but a good school nonetheless)
* Finding fulfilling employment for the year that I was taking off before going back to school
* Moving to the Northeast post graduation
Little did I know that I would spend almost 4 years in a job that brought me anxiety and misery, I would not go back to school, and we would end up staying here in NC, buying a house, and starting a family.
And fall love with knitting.
My first calling when we moved here was teaching Institute for our stake. And after days of absolutely hating everything I was doing with my life, I was grateful for the refuge that gospel teaching brings me. That, and I made some great friends out of the CES director and his wife. When Michael had to be up on campus until all hours of the night studying, preparing presentations, taping mock interviews, all the things I wanted to be doing, I would spend my evenings at their house. They fed me. They taught me. They loved me, at a time that I was feeling very alone and vulnerable and afraid - afraid of what this unscripted future held for us.
And it was in their home that Suzie taught me how to knit. She was a very patient teacher, full of enthusiasm and knowledge. She had all kinds of yarn, patterns, and books. She worked with me through my first project (a scarf - isn't it everyone's?), helping me fix mistakes, encouraging me when I got frustrated, and expressing heartfelt pride at the completed project. As I got better, we started knitting things together - patterns she would find at knitting shops while she traveled. I enjoyed this new-found skill and the pleasure it gave me to create something with my hands.
I soon invested all my time (and most of my money) to this world of knitting. I collected needles. I bought yarns without a predetermined project in mind. I horded knitting books.
Knitting got me through hard days at work. It helped keep me company during the summer I lived alone while Michael worked at an internship 3 states away. And it was what passed the time of waiting for my first daughter to come to our family.
But with my new life, the one I didn't expect I'd have, I find my time gets taken up with things. Other things that I love. And after teaching knitting in my home for the last 2 1/2 years, it had finally retired from my life this summer.
Today, I found myself wanting to do something. To create. My fingers itching to hold some yarn. I searched for something to inspire me. And I think I've found it.
Source: Knitted Toys, by Zoe Mellor
I cast on my first stitches this afternoon. And struggled to get back into the rhythm of holding the needles, of passing the yarn between them, of seeing the pattern come to life before my eyes.
But it didn't take long before I felt that I had embraced an old friend. And we picked up right where we left off. Yes, the girls wanted to play in the yarn. And Shaelyn wanted to draw all over the pages of the book. And Rachelle wanted to hold the sharp, dangerous needles. So the dynamics have changed a bit. But I'm excited to have this back in my life. To be creating. I'll keep you posted on the progress . . .
