Nifty Knitters

When I was in the 7th grade I knew a girl who loved to knit. She would knit all through recess and even through class when the teacher would allow it. One day, she taught me how to knit. Before long, the class was divided between the nifty knitters and those who frowned upon our seemingly geriatric skill. I was always a terrible knitter, probably because I never had the patience to finish a scarf or learn how to pearl (an alternative stitch). However, I watched this girl’s hobby blossom into an astonishing talent. Soon, she had made almost everyone in our class a custom hat of their choosing. At the time, I really loved cows so a white hat with black patches and soft pink ears was swiftly delivered to me upon my request. But this was basic for her, she continued on to make hats of more and more detail, creating three hats that almost identically matched the faces of three Invader Zim characters.

This creativity I will always admire and no matter how much downsizing I have to do I will never part with my cow hat because to me it stands for something much larger than a cow. It stands for the idea of perseverance and a type of talent that isn’t instinctive, but rather a result of practice and a love for your craft. My cow hat is a reminder to me that some day I could make a hat like that, too, or really anything I want if I put in the time and effort. Hobbies are far from useless. They are ways of showing yourself how much you are really capable of.

Despite my disloyalty to my inner crafty self by purchasing premade knitwear from the store, I love looking at the woven stitches and knowing that there are people in the world who can do so much better than that, people who put their whole heart and soul into making their own scarves, hats, clothes, music, you name it. One day I will stop making excuses and sit down with my knitting needles or my guitar or my sewing machine (the remnants of hobbies past) and make my vision a reality. It may not be soon, but the products of creativity that I see around me every day are proof enough that (brace yourself for a cliche) anything truly is possible. Until then, I’ll keep on with my favorite hobby of them all: writing.