Sometimes in life you get a little sidetracked, in a good way. I recently took a little detour that was quite pleasant and satisfying, so I am going to share that today. Because it is not always about the photography, you know. LOL.
Some people may know some years ago, in another time and place, I used to work in New York City in the garment industry. I designed sweaters. I loved the actual designing of the sweaters. I loved the travel aspect of the job. I got to go to some really cool places. The garment industry–meh. It was kind of soul sucking in a really negative, draining way. After two years, I happily moved on to other things. I worked in commercial real estate for a while, got married and had three kids. I moved Upstate and started doing wedding and portrait photography.
Anyway, I had not really knitted anything in a long, long time other than some scarves for my kids. I really had no desire or need to do it. This is surprising because knitting had been a pretty big part of my life at one time.
Then one day I was out–and I saw this yarn. It called to me. It was like it was asking me to take it home and make something with it. Honest to God, for real. I almost left the store without it. Then went back and bought it. I am so glad I did.
When I got home, I pulled out one of my favorite sweaters to measure for fit. I knitted a gauge swatch. I cast on. And I just knitted. And knitted. Nothing fancy or complicated. No intricate stitches, no crazy patterns, nothing too fitted. Just a basic sweater. And it felt really good. It was like I had never stopped knitting. There is something very meditative about knitting. Truth be told, I did not realize I had missed that. When you knit, you can be alone with your thoughts in a really great way. Knitting can be very calming due to the repetitive nature of the action. It forces you to be a little still, which is a great thing.
Now, will I be going back to designing sweaters? Not any time soon–I still hate the garment industry. But I really did enjoy creating this sweater. I will certainly be wearing it. Maybe I will make a few more things and see what transpires.
Since you are here, you may want to check out some of my Photography.
