Why I Quit Knitting

Ya. I quit knitting.

I said to myself, “I am never knitting again!”

My heart was breaking and I felt like a limp rag, thrown into a busy city street and trampled on.

I had just cleaned out about 10-12 garbage bags full of clothes, shoes, etc, and took them to Value Village.

Included in that pile of stuff was an entire garbage bag filled with my hand-knit and crocheted items.

I briefly thought about selling them (but I had already worn them many times and that just seemed weird), or giving to friends (but again, I’d already worn them and that seemed weird too).

I could have repurposed them, but honestly was tired of looking at the same old things all the time. And I REALLY needed the space and not the stuff.

So with a tired, sad heart, I dumped them off at Value Village and hoped they’d make their way to a loving home.

But then I had the strangest feeling settle in on me.

I reasoned, “Why should I keep knitting or crocheting when it will just end up at Value Village? I’m never knitting again!”

( Insert: I had just returned from vacation to Arkansas where I bought my wedding dress… it’s stunning and I love it, but it caused me a wee bit of stress… I was physically sick too, and the plane ride home was long and wearisome ( I had carried my 5-layer dress, huge slip and additional day-after dress, plus my purse and another huge bag all on the plane(s) with me, including running through the Dallas airport, almost missing one of my connecting flights. Some guy thought I was carrying a mattress. HA! It was all bigger than me. )

I pouted for a few days, and didn’t touch my needles or hooks.

About day 4 into this pout session I started to realize how absolutely silly I was being.

The point of knitting and crocheting isn’t so we end up with the most gorgeous piece of work the world has ever seen and it is held in a museum until the end of time for all of humanity to gasp over…

No.

We knit for the sheer joy of it.

  • The surge of pure delight that races through our veins when the idea for a new project strikes a claim in our mind…
  • The scrounging with glee through our stash to see if we have the color we need… and racing to the yarn store if not, for that perfect color and thickness of yarn.
  • The contentment and ease and escape of just being with the yarn… working stitch after stitch.
  • Sometimes letting our tears fall as our heart aches for a loved one. Sometimes smiling happily as our favorite movie plays in the background and we snag a few precious moments with our yarn.
  • The satisfaction of using time well when waiting in doctor’s offices or sitting in traffic or relaxing at a coffee shop.
  • The heart-warming conversations that start out in public when people say “What are you making? My mama used to knit!”
  • And when you finally DO have a finished item, it’s the thrill of casting off the final stitch, and scrambling over to the mirror to see if it looks good/fits/is what we thought it would be.
  • The joy on others’ faces when they open our hand-made gifts. ~

Yes, someday our items will be old and tossed out.

And that’s okay.

In fact, it makes room for a WHOLE LOTTA NEW projects that need to be made.

So it’s actually a good thing.

So I am in fact, knitting again and more rapidly than ever.

And I’m 100% convinced and reminded of why I REALLY do what I do.

It makes me happy.

And that is reason enough.

XOXOXO

Until next time…

Chandi

P.S. As always, your comments mean the world to me. Do let me know your thoughts by posting below…