Why I knit

Since the age of twelve, my standard "interesting fact" about myself for icebreaker activities has been one thing: I like to knit. This has (thankfully) gotten less odd reactions since leaving middle school, but often people wonder why a busy, occasionally impatient person like me chooses to spend my time this way. Well, the short reason is that I think knitting is awesome. The longer reasons? see below.

1. Knitting is easy. While (of course) it initially takes time to learn, once one has the motion down, the mind is free to wander. It's an almost meditative process as I loop the yarn over and over again. Other activities require a full commitment of the mind and the body at the time, while knitting is cooperative. I can knit while watching a television show, reading a book, or catching up with friends, so long as my hands are free. To knit isn't a commitment, and its friendliness is a nice respite from the demands of other responsibilities.

2. To continue on from point 1, knitting is simple. Every single knitted object, ever, is a product of only two stitches: knits and purls. It's kind of mind-blowing to realize that with the ability to produce those two stitches and adequate time, I can recreate the beautiful and intricate patterns seen in stores. There isn't fancy equipment or space required-- all you need are two needles and a ball of yarn, and time.

3. Knitting is satisfying. I pick out the softest, most brilliantly hued yarn I can find, and I can turn what's essentially a ball of string into something warm and lovely. As my needles clack their way through the piece, I can see tangible progress right before my eyes. That ability to actually measure what I've done feels validating, often unlike the stretches of days where my work doesn't seem to amount to anything.

3. Knitting connects me to memories. Just picking up the needles to do simple work calls up my initial lessons in knitting, taught to me by a very patient British grandmother who was just excited to have someone to listen to her. Putting on a handknit wool hat makes me remember the debate trip I knit it on, and the jokes of my friends as I knitted my way through long conversations on the car rides. And looking back on the wavering tensions of a scarf, I can recall the various dramas going on as I worked on it, my anger having gone into the tightness of the stitches until gradually, quietly, the yarn and stitches brought me back to calm.

4. Knitting gives me patience. It's a common misconception that you have to be patient to knit-- in fact, the quick ability to pull out a project makes me look forward to the awkward waiting times between appointments and classes. Rather than looking anxiously at the clock and fidgeting through the long seconds, I can work on something productive and be ready to go when the time comes. Somehow, that ability has translated into my being more forgiving and patient in other aspects of my life.

5. Knitting is social. Not only does it always give me a topic of conversation in those icebreaker games, but through knitting I've actually met a lot of interesting people. My ability to knit while engaging in conversation may originally give me odd looks, but it actually makes me a better listener because I am keeping my hands busy. In the same way that I can think my way through a problem as I knit a scarf, I can truly listen to what people are saying around me, and come up with better solutions to their problems. No longer am I antsy while watching movies, but I am relaxed and happy to see the story unfold as I make progress on my latest project.

Basically? Learning to knit has made my life better. That's it.

Weekend project: Letter tote bags

While I've never seen myself as particularly crafty, I am and probably always will be a sucker for a good DIY. When I saw this tutorial via Sarah Von a few months ago, I immediately Evernoted it (is there a proper verb for that?), with vague plans to use it for holiday gifts this year. Enter me, a week before Christmas and realizing that I was mostly broke for gift-money, frantically attempting to come up with ideas. After properly acknowledging the technological godsend that is Evernote, I found the tutorial again, and with a few modifications a whole new gift was born: personalized tote bags. 

Based on the reactions of my friends, these babies are perfect last-minute gifts for the high school or college student, as the supplies are not too expensive (Check out Wal-Mart for multipacks of the bags. Score!), they are easy to mass-produce while customizing, and they all turned out fairly cute!

First, you need to collect materials: you'll need some bags to paint, fabric paint in your choice of colors, a few of those foam paint-brush things, an iron, freezer paper, and an Exacto-knife (I begged this from my father). Where I live at least, freezer paper is difficult to find! After hitting up several grocery stores and being met with blank looks, I did some googling and realized that it's generally used for wrapping meat post-hunting. With this tidbit in mind, I headed to Wal-Mart and, after some lively conversation with some hunting fellows in the sporting goods section, finally found it. So if you want to try this out, save yourself the exploring and just pick it up at Wal-Mart. 

I started by just doodling possible letter designs onto computer paper, and then freehanded them onto the non-plastic side of the freezer paper. If you'd prefer a crisper look, it's also possible to design this on your computer and then print it out onto 8.5x11 pieces of freezer paper. Because I wanted specific designs/letters for my bags, I chose not to bother with that. 

A bit of advice: though all of my bags turned out fairly well, I found the block letter designs (like the B and J above) far easier to deal with than the cursive lettering--all of the little curves and negative spaces in the letters were quite annoying to deal with when it came to the ironing. So keep that in mind! 

Next, place your design onto a damageable surface (a wooden cutting board is excellent), and use your Exacto-knife to carve out the design. This being my first time using the knife, I found it easiest to treat it like an exceptionally sharp pencil, making long smooth cuts. You also may find yourself changing the shape of the design slightly as the Exacto cuts through it-- this is fine, as none of your pencil marks will get onto the fabric anyway. Trying too hard to fix cutting mistakes will result in the final result looking messier, so be sure to "think twice, cut once"! 

After cutting out the designs, iron your bag to remove as many wrinkles as possible, and then place your design (shiny side down) where you'd like it on the bag. Iron it down on medium-high heat-- I was originally worried about it getting too sealed onto the bag, but this didn't happen at all. 

Now comes the fun part: painting in the letters. As a kid who was never particularly good at staying in the lines in coloring books, I can assure you that there isn't much precision required here. Sponge the paint on until you like the color density, avoiding any major paint puddles. That's really it- if you want to try multiple colors, glitter paint, anything else, go for it!  So long as you have ironed the design on properly and avoid spilling paint onto the uncovered parts of the bag, you're golden. 

After letting them sit overnight to dry, peel off the stencils and voila! This is such an easy project to put together, and the last step of pulling away the paper to reveal the final product is so much fun. This method of stenciling and painting can definitely be used for other fabrics, and I encourage you to try it out! 

Shopping problems: tights for tall girls

When I was a little girl, my sister and I considered tights to be the absolute worst articles of clothing: they were uncomfortable, inevitably snagged, and bunched up in all the wrong places. That impression lasted me through the first half of high school: even for formal events, if I couldn't go barelegged in a dress or skirt, I wasn't interested. Junior year, however, brought some enlightenment (or, as my mother would say, common sense). Come December, tights became necessary-- and a new interest in varying colors and styles began.

Since then, my collection has grown to be ridiculous, with definite hit or misses among the piles in my drawer. As I'm 6'2", my legs have certain demands for clothing, key among them length. Some pairs have even left a full 6 inches of my leg uncovered, no matter how much I stretched them! Not okay. Thankfully though, my misadventures in hosiery have led to some successful discoveries: 

These Hue textured tights stretch to be long enough for me, and are so comfortable. Whenever I realize that I have to wear tights, it's gotten to the point that I'll try these first just because they're so soft. In general, Hue as a brand seems to make good-quality pairs, and they tend not to itch- a key quality for these things! 

 While I tend to dislike Victoria's Secret bras, I love their opaque tights. They come in several different colors, and they also make longer lengths than other retailers who sell colored tights. While they don't have huge color selections right now, I've found that the brights they do offer work well in my (admittedly boring) wardrobe, and they are often on sale to make up for it. 

If you're at a J. Crew store and they're having a decent sale, definitely hit up the hosiery section for their ribbed tights. While I haven't tried their other offerings in that area (let's face it, the sale clothing is far more alluring) I did pick up a pair of these on a whim, and I love them. These are particularly awesome for college students who have to walk around in freezing cold weather, as they have a high wool content, and the ribbing keeps you warmer, with the nice bonus of leg-slimming with vertical lines! 

Now, where can you go to get nice, high-quality tights like Hue on the cheap? Check out discount stores like Marshall's or T.J. Maxx: I've found several of my favorite pairs on their racks, and for far cheaper than their original prices. For other tall girls, this is an excellent way of experimenting to figure out the perfect pairs of tights- so long as you remember what brands work for you! 

On the journal

A little more than 2 years ago, my dad gave each girl in my family a Moleskine journal for Christmas. I'd gone on and off of diary-writing since I was six, usually forgetting to keep it up after a few days-- so this was a surprising choice of gift for me. Nonetheless, I was touched at the gesture and decided to keep it by my bed, just in case the urge to write ever came up. As I'm sure you can figure out, it did. During all of my various "dramas" in high school where I couldn't sleep for thinking and worrying, I turned to that little black book, trying to figure out my thoughts and emotions by writing myself through them.

At the end of senior year, on the road to beach week, I brought my journal on a whim and skimmed through the pages. Through all of the exclamation points, the tearstains and capital letters, I noticed that my little book had been used far more often for sorrows than for pleasures. During the most exciting and happy times of senior year-- my surprise 18th birthday party, my constitutional academic team's win at the national championship-- I had been too overcome with the moment to bother writing down just how wonderful it all was, and consequently my memories were that much more hazy. Knowing that the months ahead would bring far less stress and far more joy than I was accustomed to, I made a promise to myself: every day, no matter what, I would capture the day. The day after graduation, I started writing down the most memorable parts of each day, with annotations, memories, and thoughts filled in depending on my mood that evening.

Turns out, that commitment to full capture was revolutionary. Just writing down the days has made me more appreciative of my time, and makes for some great entertainment in reminiscing about what has passed. On New Year's Eve, I used my journal to look at my year in review, and that made me realize just how much more I can appreciate from the months where I wrote everything down. This first year of college, with what feels like the beginning of real life, these are the days that I know I'll treasure in the decades to come. Those cliches of years flying by are true, and journaling has made me love the time I'm in that much more. I truly have become a happier person because of it.

More than just reminiscences, though, having a journal has helped me figure out what's important to me. Seeing pages fly by with the days (I'm currently halfway through a notebook I started in only September) makes me realize that I want to make each day count. In a funny way, that black book on my bedside table lets me hold accountable to myself, and make sure that I'm really gaining happiness from whatever I'm doing.

So if anyone is still looking for a New Year's resolution, I'd give a commitment to a journal a chance-- if you don't feel like your thoughts are enough, maybe just write down memories of the day. Whether it's a funny quote for a friend or a record of where you went, I can promise you that it'll prove far more interesting in a few months than you think now. As for my resolutions? Well....that's where Like Frances comes in.