last fall, i was traveling a lot. when i wasn’t traveling, i was planning out every 5 minutes of my free time after work to run errands, work out, or do something with someone.

not that life was hard, the “do something with someone” was typically happy hour or dinner. still, i left myself very little time to just sit and do nothing, which i thought was something i was missing in life. so one thursday, i came home after work and decided to not do anything. i told myself i would see what was on TV. i don’t have cable, so the answer was nothing. i scanned netflix for an hour until i found something watchable (hoarders). i did that for about 25 minutes before i realized i was bored. i needed a hobby. something to do when i’m home and NOT doing anything. i didn’t like having idle hands.

i honestly can’t remember where the idea came from, but i decided to learn to knit. it seemed like a reasonable pastime, and there was a tangible end product that i could show off or hide away depending on quality. so i went to joann fabrics and bought some cheap yarn and needles, and a book on how to knit. after practicing making a couple rows at a time, i started with a scarf. that took me most of thanksgiving week, and had many many mistakes. but i got it, i understood the general gist of how this works, i thought i’d take on a bigger project and knit an afghan.

now this was a real project, it started in december 2011 and was finished in june 2012. and the progress is well documented. please note all but one photo i’m wearing the same outfit. that was not on purpose.

january 2012

february 2012

march 2012

april 2012

june 2012 (we were in thailand the entire month of may)

finally in use.

so then i knew i was very good at straight lines. i decided to get more complicated. i’m in a hat phase now, i’ve made four (two practice, two real ones) and working on number five. they are getting increasingly better and more complicated. this hobby is especially useful since i’ve gotten surgery on my acl and been limited to sitting on the couch for the majority of the day. keeps things entertaining, in a funny way. and keeps me from having idle hands, which is not something i can handle.

hat #3