Ravelry

I have been knitting since I was about 18 - that's TEN WHOLE YEARS! There isn't a whole lot that I have been doing for that long. Sometimes I feel so old. . .

I taught myself to knit right before my first trip to Europe. SFO to Heathrow is a long flight and while I enjoy reading, I can't do it for 10 straight hours. The next logical idea was to find something to keep my mind occupied and my body (slightly) busy. And these were the days before 9/11 when you could actually bring METAL knitting needles onto a plane and no one even glanced twice.

So there I was knitting hats, scarfs, baby blankets, pot holders, etc. I then had the briliant idea of learning how to crochet. Not sure what sparked that bad idea, but I was already 3 skeins into a baby blanket before I realized that knitting would have been so much faster. I decided that I needed to join a knitting/crochet group that would reignite that fire under my ass about finishing that blanket for a baby that was already two months old!

After much searching, I found a great group of lesbians who knit/crochet weekly. I was hesitant to join because of the obvious, but I talked my boss - who is "one of them" into going with me. Her girlfriend even came along for support. We figured that we could all hold hands if they started questioning us (I mean, me). The first meeting was great - I learned a lot more about the yarn community then I ever could have imagined. Did you know that some people still spin their own yarn! And they discuss it on this website called Ravelry.com People post pictures of their completed work, they trade patterns and get advice about yarns. They even tell knitting jokes!

Its all just too much. But I am enjoying having a place to get some hooking done. The girls are friendly and the tea is great. I'm learning a lot - even without trying! And I have to say that I am very proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and joining a group full of interesting people that I never would have met otherwise.