Thank you, Mrs. Chamberlain!

My first memory of intentionally making a gift to give to someone was when I was 3 years old. I got two pieces of that cardboard that came in my dad's shirts when they were dry cleaned, I jiggled 5 pennies out of my piggy bank (all "wheaties" because it was the 50s,) I took some Saran wrap from Mom's kitchen (they didn't have the stick-to-itself kind yet,) and I used that yellowing scotch tape (they hadn't yet invented what they called "magic tape" that you could write on, that also wouldn't yellow.) My big discovery at age 3...if you fold scotch tape over into a loop, it holds one item to another! ( I still, to this day, love the discoveries we make while working on projects...those creative ephiphanies that we only find while in the process of creating!)


I don't exactly know what this gift item was that I made, but I know the feeling it gave me. Pennies, to me, at age 3 were exciting because they meant the opportunity to buy candy at the candy store in town. Cutting the windows in the cardboard and covering them with plastic was my first architectural attempt, as I had watched my dad, the architect, design windows many a time. I also liked windows because they protected, yet revealed the exciting pennies. The whole project was held together with tape.

When the project was complete, I skipped over next door to Mrs. Chamberlain's house. She was 93 and lived alone. I rang her doorbell and said, "This is for you!"

You would've thought I gave her a million dollars! She was so grateful and complimentary of the work I had just given her. I will never forget the glowing feeling that gave me to design and make a gift and watch how it made its recipient feel! I am in deep gratitude to Mrs. Chamberlain for starting that spark in my life at age 3 because designing gifts is one of my most favorite things to do. Creating gifts has especially returned to my life in this economically challenging time. I also learned that not everyone appreciates an original gift. Not everyone thinks about the process of making an idea manifest and the love that goes into creating it. So, we have to be discerning and have no expectations of the reaction they get.

Do you remember your first gift creation experience? Is there someone who gave you such a touching reaction to something you created that it sparked a flame for life? Do tell.

A True Test of Passion

There is a test that cat owners know well. Whenever we are in the flow of a creative passion...a kitty will come along and lie right in the middle of it to test how much we love what we're doing. Here are two examples of this test captured in photos. The first, I was giving a wool sweater a new life by unraveling it to create a new knit item to felt. The kitty test was measuring how passionate I was about turning that sweater back into new yarn to play with. I failed the test. That sweater is still in the "to do" pile.


The next test caught on camera....is the "how much do you want to do research on your computer?" test. That one is a tough test as kitties are experts at making you not able to see what you're researching. Kitty tests are the new "pop ups" of the marketing world. I think kitties can teach us a ton about marketing. They certainly know how to grab our attention with cuteness.

Have you been tested by your pet for how passionate you are about what you're doing? Please share your story!

Inspiration hides in the most common everyday places

I love stories of how designers and creatives become inspired to try things. So here's mine.


I was minding my own business...knitting a pair of black and white striped socks to give to my sweety daughter....when one day in Walmart, I stumbled across a pair of socks that looked just like them! Okay...they did have a reindeer on them and were factory made...and not of bamboo and silk, but still....who wants to invest all that time and energy into knitting socks you can find cheaper in Walmart?

Going sock-otic ....I asked my inner Muse what to do. It took a long time to knit those socks and several glasses of wine to make it through weaving the multitude of ends in! The Muse told me to add some flowers since I always wanted to try knitting some. So, out came the flower picture books and playtime began.

I've only started this sock knitting addiction this year. There's a story about why I started knitting socks again after the last pair I tried was in 1967! But later for that. I must admit that back in 1967 we sure didn't have the cool templates to play around with or the cool yarn that survives foot usage like there is today. Sock knitting has become so creatively cool! Does anyone else have a confession about their sock knitting addiction to share ?

Booty (re)-Call

In school we study history. The point of studying history is to learn and honor and never forget where we came from. I can't forget the Ruth Benedicts, the Elizabeth Cady Stantons, the Elizabeth Blackwells who struggled to allow women to go to college. Before their efforts, women weren't allowed to have higher education...they had a uterus http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTwomb.html and that deemed them too hysterical to be in a learning environment!

I think of Elizabeth Zimmerman and how she used her passion for knitting to explain knitting techniques in such a knit-friendly way that it opened doors to future knitters and still does.
Besides honoring the pioneers who made things easier for us today....I have to also look back on my very first knit project. I learned to knit in a time when you had to stand up to change one of the 3-4 TV channels. TV was still only black and white then. And we had to walk miles in the deep snow to the local LYS to get the limited types of yarn to make whatever project we could find a pattern for.
My very first project was a pair of adult booties. I would never be caught wearing such a thing today. But that first project started my creativity on a knit journey for my whole life!
It's important to stop every once in a while and remember how things were when we first started...not only as a knitter. It's easy to forget how far we've come as an individual and as a world.
What was your first project? How old were you when you made it? How did the whole experience feel? Did it inspire the knitter you are today? Or was it a bumpier road than that?

The Passion Prescription

We all have our Heaven on Earth. Mine is to knit with some of my most favorite people in a Botanical Garden. This year when I went there, this guy was waiting for me with Denise needles and yarn in hand! Talk about a supportive environment!

There is something very recharging about spending a little time in a dream environment doing what you love most. It's one of the healthiest prescriptions to fill and most definitely deserves a refill. Do you have a Heaven on Earth place to be?

Finding yarn potential in the kitchen

Imagine the possibilities! Knit some snacks for a party. Knit outfits to take with you in case you get hungry. A college survival food reframed into yarn. Wonder what else we can find around the house or in the cupboard to knit with. Any ideas? Any experiments? Please let me know.

Knitting/Crocheting Ailments and Diseases

After you've been knitting/crocheting a while and it's pretty deeply incorporated into your lifestyle...you will begin to notice that there are ailments and diseases you can be susceptible to that you may not have been aware of, had you not been a knitter/crocheter.
One of the most widespread diseases that we're still trying to find a cure for...is the curse of the boyfriend sweater.

Many of you know about and may have even survived this disease. For those of you who haven't received your immunity shot against this disease yet because you've never heard of it....it's the curse that happens when you invest in yarn and stitch by stitch, lovingly create a sweater (or other project) for your partner. The curse is that once you put out the energy to create and complete this sweater/project....he mysteriously disappears out of your relationship life. We are still taking donations to find the cure for this debilitating disease. Fortunately, I have only had inklings of wanting to knit a boyfriend sweater, but in all my years have thankfully never acted on it.

Another disease that's going around is "Second Sock Syndrome." You know it well....when you make that first sock and it even turns out beautifully, but somehow, you just can't get the energy up to want to live through creating the second one. Maybe it's the repetition factor. Maybe you just don't feel it for the project and want to break off the relationship. This, (and because of the other disease of washing machines magically making one of the pair disappear better than Houdini ever could-Laundered Sock Consumptitis) is probably what inspired the invention of the mismatched three sock set sold in hip clothing shops and gift stores today.

Another ailment is Mohair Manic Depression. This is where you find a mistake earlier in your work and have to frog your mohair project down to the mistake to fix it. Give up now! Put a felted heart over the imperfection because mohair is clingier than the worst case of codependency! Another similar type disorder, known as Novelty Yarn Neurotic Disorder, has similar symptoms to Mohair Manic Depression, as it can wreak havoc on your emotional state, but often people will deal with it by saying, "Novelty yarns? They're so last decade. Nobody's using them anymore." Then they throw the project in the UFO closet never to look at it again...or find a new use for it as a cat toy.

I know there are many many more ailments and diseases to warn you about in the needle arts and if you know of any more... please tell us about them. So, please give consideration to these ailments before investing your time, money and energy into a project. This has been a public service blog entry announcement and I approve this message.

Before I sign off for the month...please check out this very entertaining (and abandoned) blog that explores afflictions of the designer's sense of taste...starting with this entry that alludes to the aforementioned disease we've discussed...the curse of the boyfriend sweater.... http://youknitwhat.blogspot.com/2006/01/return-of-boyfriend-sweater-curse.html

Keep knitting(crocheting, etc)....no matter what afflictions lurk!