Knitting is cool….You betta recognize!!!!

Looking back on it, when I was younger, I was a little different. Not different in the crazy way but different, as in I marched to my own beat. I wasn’t really a mainstream kid. I did some things that other kids did but for the most part I did what I wanted because I liked it. I wore some really outlandish outfits, did things like cross-stitch for fun, read every book in the library, and designed outfits in sketch pads when I was 8 years old. I remember in high school I made a shirt completely out of Tweety Bird material and everyone thought it was the coolest thing. No one else would have dared try it, but I did.

It wasn’t until recently when I remembered all of this that I realized how unique I was. And even with my strange uniqueness, I was always a part of the cool crowd. People accepted it and sometimes even imitated it. I lost some of my uniqueness over the years and I missed it. I think joining the corporate world can do that to you without you realizing it. This year I decided to get my mojo back. I want to live life to the fullest and never regret a thing. Now I’m back to being me. I wear whatever I feel like wearing (within reason), I cut off all of my shoulder-length hair to about 1” long, I travel more, and I do crazy things like Knit In Public.

In Miami, my two non-knitting friends looked at me like I was crazy when I pulled out my knitting at the beach. I’m sure you you’ve heard the standard comments. “I can’t believe you are about to knit, blah, blah, blah”. Of course you know I rolled my eyes and kept right on knitting. My sister never said a word. She doesn’t knit but she grew up in the same artistic household so she gets it. One friend (#1) went to say something but stopped. I guess she remembered that I made her an outfit for her birthday last year and that nothing that I’ve ever made has been ugly. The other one (#2) kept right on with the comments. In my head I’m thinking, “Keep it up. Keep on talking, I’ll show you”.



By the time I finished my cute Summer Tweed tank on Saturday (blocked and seamed in the hotel room), she (#2) was saying “Oohh, that’s so cute!” and asking if I could make her something. With a sly smirk I said, “Ooohhh, so now it’s cool. Now you want me to make you something huh?!?..... We’ll see.”

In case you’re wondering, We’ll see = No.

So the next time someone looks at you like you’re crazy for doing something that you like and enjoy, just tilt your head ever so slightly, raise an eyebrow, and with attitude say “ [Insert Action verb here] is cool…You betta recognize!!!!”