I probably should have gone to therapy. I say that in all honesty.
Things in my life felt unsteady. My husband was training for what was seeming to be a very scary deployment. I was dealing with anxiety from a car accident. Life had taken a few turns that had left me feeling a bit ill at ease.
The reality was, I was actually thinking about starting therapy. I had the phone out, ready to dial the scheduling line, but I just couldn’t press send. Maybe it was the hours and hours I spent trying to “get better” without feeling like I was making the kind of progress I desired. It might have been because no amount of therapy could take away the fact that my husband had a dangerous job. Or, maybe it was because I was about to discover something else.
It actually began with crocheting
The idea to knit came late at night (the best ideas usually do, right?) I was sitting in my room and the thought that I should knit or crochet popped into my mind. It was a thought I couldn’t shake. I did some research to see which would be easier to learn and it appeared that crocheting was the winner. The next day, I went to the craft store, bought a set of crochet needles, and a couple balls of yarn. Then I found Craftsy – which is truly the holy grail for crafting instruction.
Check out this crochet course by Craftsy if you want to learn to crochet!
I bought the beginner course on crocheting, and was off and running. However, as you might guess, it wasn’t “it” for me. (Or, this blog be called crocheting is my therapy, right?)
Now, let me get this out there – I mean no disrespect to crocheters. I do enjoy crocheting, but it wasn’t working to get my mind off the craziness. I had this strong feeling that knitting was the thing I needed to do.
Knitting is my therapy
It was about midnight when I had this revelation, and there were no craft stores open. However, I wasn’t going to wait. A brilliant idea had popped into my head. “Weren’t there some leftover barbecue skewers in the kitchen? And those are shaped like knitting needles, right?” I grabbed myself a pair, hunkered down with yet another class from Craftsy and it was a match made in heaven.
Knit Lab: Projects, Patterns & Techniques
Check out the very first knitting course that I took from Craftsy here.
The next day I realized that I was going to need a better set of needles, since the skewers were proving a bit rough on the hands. I remembered a LYS that I had driven by many times, and I felt drawn to go threre, rather than back to the mega store. I headed in, met the owner, and she helped me select a pair of Knitter’s Pride size 8s and a new variegated skein of yarn. With a mix of online classes and impromptu lessons at the LYS I was soon on my way to becoming a “real” knitter (whatever that means). It’s been 3 years now, and while I certainly don’t consider myself an expert knitter, I love it very much. It’s also been a lifesaver for me. When I tell people that knitting is my therapy I do so in jest, but also in truth.
While I’ve had sessions with life coaches since starting knitting, I haven’t had regular therapy. Not to say I won’t ever go back, but knitting has been a great stress reliever for me (although, I do admit it causes stress sometimes too – more on that later).
The ups, downs, and tangled web of yarn that life weaves is a little brighter for me thanks to knitting. I hope it does the same for you.
*I’m an affiliate for Knit Picks and Craftsy (yay!) That means I will get a wee bit of money (and you’ll get some karma points) if you buy anything from my links
