Men == Knitting?

Approximately a week and a half ago, Katie wanted to go to Michael's to purchase some frames for a few of her beautiful paintings she painted over that weekend. Originally, I wanted to pick up a new game for my PSP; due to a water main break, the gaming store was closed.

Try to keep in mind: Artistic/Crafty people in a Craft Store == A Child in a candy shop.

As we rummage through all the frames Michael's Craft Store had available to purchase, I began to wander around the store thinking to myself, "Hmmm, I need a new hobby" I found myself in an aisle surrounded by yarns of different sorts. I remember reading an article about Knitting....

"The idea is that it strengthens hand-and-mind coordination."

"Knitting is a wonderful way to look at life...

...You make a lot of mistakes and you have to learn to correct your mistakes. You have to tear it back down and start over sometimes. Like life, there is nothing you can do that is that terrible that (it) can't be repaired and come out with something useful.

Katie finally found me as I was stroking my chin with my index finger and thumb, staring aimlessly at the "Learn How to Knit" books stacked in front of me. "Hey, what are you doing?" She said. "I need a new hobby and I was thinking of knitting." She looked at me with a smile and said, "Knitting? That's great hun, you should do it. And you can knit me stuff -- hmmmm....get that book." And she pointed to a small book which also came with some starting needles and tools to get me on my way. Probably out of excitement in the realization that now she had a fiancee to knit her stuff, she dragged me back to the yarn aisle and started feeling and critiqueing each yarn. "I want a new scarf." she said. "I want this color so I can match it with mostly anything, plus it's soft."

As soon as we got home, I immediately plunged into the book, skipped the preface...Lesson 1. Cast-on, then Lesson 2. Knit Stitch, Lesson 3. Purl Stitch. I practiced each Lesson. It was actually a little difficult at first trying to decipher the archaic drawings into reality while interpreting what the heck the instructions meant. Soon, I found myself creating a small square of tightly knit and purled stitches. "WOW! Is that my scarf?" Katie yelped, after glancing a moment from her TV show. "No! This is just for practice. Your scarf will be alot bigger I'm sure."

I spent another day practicing the stitches and getting comfortable with increases and descreases and learned to bind off my stitches. I was ready to start on my new project to realize that I needed more YARN! Katie picked out a new color, and I am now working on my first project...a scarf. Each time I finish a couple of inches, Katie gets more and more excited for her scarf to be done.



It is my first project, so there are a couple of stitches that went awry. My coworker, Heather, is also a knitter. She helped and thought me how to get through the malicious stitches.

I'm hardly finished with this scarf, and Katie's already got the next clothing accessory determined.

Other Benefits I found researching about Knitting:

• It helps you develop a stronger hand-mind coordination.
• It relieves you of stress.
• It helps lower your blood pressure.
• It helps maximizing your time while you watch TV, travel, etc.
• It will help you keep your fingers limber if you are suffering from arthritis.
• It helps you stave off Alzheimer’s disease.

Of course slightly concerned about knitting and my masculinity I found out that more men are picking up knitting these days because of the health benefits it provides.

Upon furthur research, I even found a site which explains the history of men and knitting (If you get the chance, its a fantastic read!):
http://www.menknit.net/history.html

Till next time!