before i was a knitter

what were you before you were a knitter? because dear me, my life has changed since becoming a knitter. i used to have a lot of hobbies and interests. now? yarn, knit blogs and knitting patterns. i have little room for all the things that i used to love. slowly, over the last month i have been trying to integrate some of those back in. mind you, i still knit like a mad woman (working from home is dangerous).

first, there is design. i used to do party invitations and other cool designy stuff on my computer. i used to even call myself a graphic designer. i have an education in the field. when my career took a different path (still in a related industry - print), i still considered myself a designer because my plate was always full of freelance work. not anymore. i did two party invitations in the past couple weeks and i was not on my game. but at least i dabbled again. and my gtbg shop, well you will see in a bit the lame design (it isn't bad, just kinda boring) that i threw together. not. on. my. game. i used to pride myself on my creativity there. now, i pride myself on my yarn stash.

second, there were the parties. oh how i used to throw little get togethers on occasions like my parent's birthdays. placecards, elaborate table scapes, unique gift wrapping, cool food presentation and favors to ahhh over. now they get knitted gifts and pizza or take out chinese.

i could go on and on. i am not trying to toot my own horn here, i just miss life before knitting sometimes. i am trying to get it back and still maintain the knitting. i love knitting, and i am just as surprised as many of you probably are, that it has remained a constant in my life for over 2 years now.

don't get me wrong, knitting has certainly made life more tolerable at times. sitting in the lobby of my dr.'s office several times over the last year, knitting in the er while my grandma was being checked out and waiting in a long line to buy tickets to name a few. knitting is good. it has helped me to overcome a fear of flying, knowing that now i have a hobby that will occupy my time on a plane. i won't give up the knitting. but i hate to have to give up everything else.

i have been reflecting on my past life a lot lately. i always do in the spring. i also had a dear friend, whom i lost touch with over the last 5 years, reconnect with me. she was always a huge part of my crafty endeavors. she brought a lot of memories back to me. so i ask you, what were you before you were a knitter?

so yesterday, my knitting friend tami came over and we attempted to do something non-knitting related. we discovered (at our last knitting get together) that we both had an interest in trying out pmc. i wish i had taken more pictures, but you can see my first attempts below. although they both need a lot more polishing, they are indeed silver. i made silver. it is just so cool.


p.s. that is a bird and a nest

prior to attempting the silver clay, i worked with my fimo to get a few ideas going. so over the weekend i created some jewelry based on my stitch marker designs (see how everything goes back to knitting!).


you can see my attempt to recreate in the silver above. i was more successful in the fimo, but will be working with pmc again. tami and i were so thrilled with the process!

and right now i am wishing so very darn hard that i was a seamstress. because amy butler is one of those people who kills me with inspiration. everything from her fabric to her website design to her logo color. fantastic! but i hate sewing. i need to hire a seamstress for me, i'll buy the fabric and she will charge me to sew. do people do that? seriously.

and of course, during all of this, there was still knitting. tomorrow i will show you my current wips. the socks that rock is still neatly tucked in a basket on display in my living room. i am having a hard time actually using the stuff because it looks so pretty.

thanks for bearing with me today. i love my life, i really do.