Peaceful Knitting
I started my company, be still & knit in the summer of 2005. I left my corporate job as a rocket scientist (yes, really) in late 2003 to birth my daughter. It was a HUGE shift for me to go from the world of high science, high dollar, and high risk satellite business to the world of diapers, baby food, and midnight feedings. To top it all off, we moved from our home in Connecticut to Denver for my husband's work (in my 35th week of pregnancy). So here I was, a new mom in a new town, with no friends to speak of.
I desperately needed to do something and meet people or I was going to go nuts! So, I went to moms groups, I went to churches, and I went to the parks to meet other moms. It worked for a while, but my drive as an engineer really made me want to do more - I wanted to have something that I could call my own.
I was wandering through Target, buying diapers, when a learn to knit kit caught my eye. It was not completely out of character, since I had been crocheting since I was six. I brought it home and learned to knit. It wasn't the most beautiful of shawls (at least in my eyes), but it garnered me compliments every time I wore it. Before long, I was making shawls and teaching classes to my new friends.
After a while, I decided that it was silly of me to do all of this for free, so I created a business out of it. I focused on teaching classes to women who were like me. They needed something to do that they could call their own. They needed to feel like the time they took for themselves was not frivolous. They wanted to be able to show their family that they loved them, and the easiest way to do that is with a warm blanket or sweater!
So, nearly three years later, I am still teaching women to take time for themselves, without feeling guilty! That precious personal time is used to create something wonderful, either for themselves or for others. It is a way for these women to learn more about themselves by recognizing and accepting their imperfections (like their imperfect knitting), and it is a way for women to find that all elusive time for inner reflection.
Here's some ways that you can add a little peacefulness to your life.
