Fearless

It’s hard to believe that a year ago I submitted my first blog post. This would never have happened if it were not for my brother Gordy. Let me tell you a little bit about my brother. Gordy always had a mischievous grin on his face and you knew just by looking at him that he was up to something. Whatever that something was, he never let his fear (if he had any) stop him. And his laughter was infectious. You couldn’t help but laugh along with him. Gordy lived in the moment. He was so very different from me. I am more of a planner and always thinking of the “what if’s”. I have gone through life playing it safe and never taking chances. That is up until last year.

After losing Gordy to cancer, I realized how short life really is and not to get caught up in all the what if’s. I am definitely not the same person I was a year ago.

Thank You Gordy!

I’ve always been scared to take risks, to put myself out there. In regards to knitting, I have always played it safe. Stick to the easier patterns, stick to using one yarn. If I wanted to add color to my project, my choice of yarn has always been variegated. Yes I lose control of where the color was placed but the alternative was just too scary.

After the loss of my brother, knitting has not only brought me comfort but also has shown me how to be a fearless knitter. I have always loved the sweaters with the beautiful fair isle designs. Or the knitted mittens with the snowflake design in the middle of the mitt. My hands always itched to start creating a pair of my very own. But then that little voice would start. You know the one that says, “Oh that pattern is way too complicated. Only an experienced knitter can tackle that.” And that would be the end of that.

But when you lose someone close and at such an early age, you realize that its now or never. So with needles in hand, an assortment of beautiful left over yarn from previous projects (none of which are variegated) and the help of a wonderful tutorial, the jump into the world of fair isle knitting began.

Beginner Fair Isle Scarf

Now of course this is not perfect. The perfectionist in me points to all the mistakes and the urge to rip out and fix them nags at me. But I am now a fearless knitter and onward I go. The joy of learning a new technique and seeing the design being created right in front of my eyes gives me great joy. And isn’t that why we knit in the first place?

If you are interested in learning fair isle knitting, I highly recommend visiting verypinks.com. The design I am working on is from the “Color My Cuffs” tutorial.

My Brother Gordy

Fearless Knitting