Big move

Part 3 of my crafting journey, moving to US.

You can read the 1st part here and the 2nd part here.

In 2006 my husband got an offer to work at the University of Washington in Seattle. After debating staying in Germany or moving to the US we jump to an opportunity and choose Seattle for our next journey.

It was, again, a huge change in our lives. Changing countries isn’t an easy process, and changing it without knowing (at least for me) the language is even harder.

So, of course, it was some adapting time, understanding, how everything ‘works’ here. And we had moved light with only a couple of suitcases, which means we need to organize all the household from the beginning again. For a while, I was busy with everyday tasks.

At some point, we got a car, and a new kind of traveling opened for us. In Germany, we used only public transportation and mostly were visiting different cities. Now we started traveling to see nature. First, to see the beauty of Washington state, and then more states to visit.

After more or less we settled down, I started looking around where and how I can fulfill my crafting urge. And again, knitting and crocheting were what I was leaning toward. Before I found out all about big chain craft stores and later about local yarn stores and online stores, my first purchase of the yarn was at a garage sale, several odd balls of yarn for $1. That is how I started to build my stash here, in the US.

Through the years we moved again several times from state to state. After Seattle, WA we lived in Knoxville, TN and Boise, ID, and near Chicago in Plainfield, IL.

Our family grew, and for now, we have 3 kids and settled near Charlotte, NC.

All these years I had always some projects on my needles or hooks, it was my relaxing time. I learned to knit and crochet in many different places, outside, on the go, any time when I had a spare minute between all the craziness of mom’s life. I enjoyed making different kinds of projects.

In 2010 I discovered Ravelry and since then I add all the projects there with pictures and all descriptions of used tools and yarns. Staying organized and seeing in one place how are my projects progressing kept me motivated to do more.

In 2014 I found a local group of knitters and crocheters and began to attend meetings regularly. This was also a big change, to become part of a community of like-minded people in real life and not only online. It is so great to be around people to share your project or chat about specific crafting questions, get new ideas from each other, help each other or do charity projects together. Love it!

With all the changes in my life, my knitting and crocheting changed too. I can’t just say it became better, it’s only part of the deal, it changed also how I approach crafting, how I see differently the process and finished items.

I think you got the idea, I do love knitting and crocheting!

Stay tuned for one more part of the story, part 4 is coming soon.