Oh CRAP, I did do that!

I am not a creative person at all. I can draw stick figures, barely. At one point I was in 4H and Girl Scouts and learned to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, and needlepoint. I might have won a 4H ribbon or two but they were given to all entries. That phase of my life changed around Junior High when I moved on to more esoteric pursuits - boys, figure skating, etc.

A few decades later, my brother and sister in law started having children. She, my sister in law, is a very crafty person. I enlisted her help in picking out yarn and a pattern to make a baby blanket for her second child - my nephew who is now 14 and nearly 6' tall. That baby blanket was never finished and now would only be of use to him for his children in another 15 years or so. It is now in a bag somewhere....

Then I got married, life got chaotic, I got cancer and I guess I was annoying my friends so much while I was home dealing with chemo, that one of them, Judie, said to me 'you need a hobby'. I agreed, calling friends while they are at work, reading bad novels, and watching bad reality television wasn't going to get me through chemo any easier.

I went back to crochet. I got some yarn and a few crochet hooks. Then I got more yarn, some knitting needles. I discovered the evil benefits of the sale section of yarn stores. Everyone in my family got a scarf for Christmas that year. Then all my friends got a scarf for their birthday.

Then I discovered I am addicted to yarn and knitting and crocheting. I have bags of finished products. I have more bags of UFOs (unfinished objects). I have even more bags of yarn (an unofficial member of SABLE - Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy). I have switched to larger projects to slow down my production as I have enough scarves and cowls knit for a couple seasons of holiday craft shows.

I am finishing a knit crazy child's blanket where I will sew together a multitude of triangles and finish with a pale yellow edge. I am just starting a patchwork blanket for our bed which will be in squares of the same yarn knit in different patterns sewn together. This should take me most of the rest of the summer.

I like knitting and crocheting - its relaxing and non-fattening. 

Some where along the line I would often see information on creative arts classes to help people with cancer heal and cope. I would say that is so not me as I only draw stick figures. Besides I am not someone who feels the need to scrap book, decorate my house with handmade 'what-nots' (or dust collectors). I am not creative. I don't need those classes.

Slowly it has dawned on me. CRAP, I did do that. I did use creative arts to help heal and cope. And I didn't need a class for it. I just need more yarn stores for more yarn to fuel my addiction and increase my stash.