Knitting and Sewing? Poets don’t do THAT!
Well, some do I suppose. I find knitting and sewing clothes to be a great outlet for aggression, indifference, and primal urges to poke a small stick at some wily animal. Sometimes my joy of sewing and knitting are hampered by sheer laziness - and the occasional video game. Just like writing is sometimes lost to chasing a three-year old, and avoiding questions from loved ones, such as, “What is that about? Me?”
I wish more people understood that sometimes - sometimes - writing comes from many places. I have memories of my step-father yanking me unceremoniously from bed in the middle of the night at age eleven (by the hair), and my best friend being killed when I was thirteen. They are in most of my writing, somewhere. There are very few things that happen now that I write about now.
I wish I could be so inspired by my handicrafts. I see images in my head of clothing I would like to create, but the exact execution is beyond me. I have never been able to execute the images in my head - never been a ‘visual’ person. Words were the only way I could express myself and feel confident that people ‘got the picture’.
You may wonder, what does someone who writes like this make when they knit or sew? Well, I have been doing both for less than a year, and have made scarves, several sweaters that were completely horrific, a knit mouse (yes, a mouse), and skirts, a dress, tops, and MANY boxer shorts and PJ bottoms for my son. He seems to love fabric, and he can’t get enough of clothes made with funky fabrics. I love him for that.
In the grand tradition of excess, and the forceful, internal desire to be heard, I have created a crafting blog, so as to not bore the literary crowd with my ramblings on what a wonderful free pattern I found for XYZ. Take a look at the Knit Geek’s blog.
