I love to knit!  I would love to knit more often and I would love to know how to make more than scarves, but I do love to knit.  I remember when I learned.  I was in 3rd grade.  After school, a bus would pick me up from elementary school and take me to an after school day care where my oldest sister worked.  I would stay there till my sister got off work and she would take me home.  At the day care, they had various activities for the kids.  One activity was knitting.  I don't remember details, but I remember being taught and loving it.  I remember bringing my knitting along with me in the car.  One particular time I remember being at the drive-thru of McDonald's and knitting a red scarf.  Up until yesterday, 30 years from the day I learned to knit, I have only known how to knit scarves.  I finally learned how to use a loom (a knitting cheating tool) to make a hat yesterday and I was thrilled.  What I love about knitting is it is meditative, relaxing (unless you mess something up and have to start over) and such a feeling of accomplishment when you go from a ball of yarn to something beautiful, useful and functional.

I was recently invited to a Tuesday night homeschool mom knitting group.  Moms gather to knit, crochet and gab while enjoying their favorite coffee or tea at a nearby Starbucks.  I made it my goal to clear out my craft closet, dig out my yarn and needles and get to that gathering.  Since I am a seasonal knitter (I tend to only knit in the fall and winter), my knitting bag was quite a mess, but I got it together and went to that gathering.

At the knitting gathering, my dear friend who knits and crochets like crazy was there and she helped me a lot.  I bow down to her amazing knitting and crocheting abilities.  Not only has she crocheted beautiful tote bags from plastic grocery bags, but I've seen her knit the tiniest of outfits for her little girl's Barbie!  She was very patient in showing me how to crochet that night and I guess "three times is a charm", because I had previously had two other friends show me with little success.  That night I discovered that I have been knitting left-handed all along and was only comfortable crocheting left-handed also.  No wonder I've always had such a hard time following the instruction books.  Being a left-handed writer, you think I would not have been surprised, but the truth is I'm ambidextrous.  I write and play pool with my left, but brush teeth, hair, use scissors and bat a baseball with my right.  Creative, aren't I?

Now I'm discovering the love of crocheting.  All day today I vowed I would figure it out and get comfortable with it before vacation was over and the madness of a busy life started again.  I was having a hard time of it when I decided to search the net for "left-handed crochet".  Whalah!  There it was.  A video tutorial and all!  What a day we live in!  Why. back in the day, I'd have had to get in the car and go to the library...blah, blah, blah...and back then, they didn't have nearly as much of a variety of yarns...blah, blah, blah...

So I'm off to crochet again.  My yarn and hook are calling me.  I hope to get to the point where I can venture out with my bag full of knitting and crocheting utensils and pass the time away throughout the day creating some wonderful work of art made of yarn for others to "Ooo" and "Ahhh" over.