Having gotten unpacked and settled in Aurora during the latter part of 2006, I turned my attention in early 2007 to the study of art. I joined a local choir and started taking classes in every medium I had explored as a child. I signed up for pottery (hand building and thrown), pastels, watercolors and oils. Management at the local Michaels convinced me to put in a job application with the thought that I might teach something there eventually.  I was offered a job as Cashier Supervisor, but felt it wouldn’t give me the time or opportunity to emerse myself in my art.

 

So I held out for a teaching role.  The Michaels folks had a full complement of teachers except for something called “Knifty Knitter” – which is knitting on peg looms (often round) instead of needles.  They kept bugging me to buy some looms and teach myself, so I could teach others.  I had seen my son’s girlfriend, Chris McGovern, knit a scarf on a peg loom and it looked pretty easy.  So I bought my first set of looms on January 1, 2007.  Never one to do things by halves, I decided my first project would be a turtleneck poncho (instead of the more reasonable hat or scarf).  I figured if I couldn’t knit something that complex, I’d have little to offer my students and the medium wouldn’t hold my interest.  By February I was teaching loom knitting at Michaels.

 

Everyone told me I should sell my creations.  I kept insisting I didn’t ever want to be a production knitter.  I just wanted to teach others.  But when a friend loved one of my early creations so much she insisted on buying it, I did a quick excel spreadsheet to come up with a consistent pricing methodology (ever the consultant) and dove headfirst into the world of retail fashion.  I purchased two full size mannequins (Racquel aka Raqi and Kassandra aka Kassi)) and four head/shoulders mannequins.  I taught myself web photography.  By March I was teaching loom knitting at Michaels and JoAnns and had launched the first version of my website with the help of my dear friend Barbara Escher.

 

In April I began hosting special events like Knitting High Teas and Champagne Brunches.  By May I was designing my own patterns and re-vamping everyone else’s.  In June I bought my third (and I hope final) full size mannequin (Skyler).  By July, I gave up teaching at Michaels and JoAnns for the greater flexibility of teaching classes in my home.  I also purchased a Brother Knitting Machine to facilitate producing large pieces of custom knitted fabric from which I could then form original fashions.  Anyone who thinks using a knitting machine is cheating has never tried one.  They are very expensive and incredibly complex.  They require a tremendous amount of human intervention and they drop stitches just like humans.  A knitting machine is no more cheating than a sewing machine or a weaving loom or a computer.  These technologies enhance the artist’s ability to bring her or his creative vision to life.  They don’t replace the artist’s unique vision.  They just expand the possibilities.

 

In August I began buying looms on sale and yarn on clearance for the convenience of my clients. In September the owner of my local Curves gym agreed to let me teach a two-hour afternoon class one day a week during the midday break when the gym was closed. In October, the yarn purchasing turned serious when I established my first wholesale relationship with a national craft supplier.  In November, I did my first show.

 

By December, we were up to our eyeballs in mannequins, knitted creations, yarn, looms, pattern books and pottery (more on that below).  So much for the simple, downsized life I had dreamed of.  It became clear we needed more space and, with the approval of our investment manager, accountant and mortgage banker, we began interviewing builders and scouring the countryside for the perfect lot and house plan.

 

And what about the other art media?  Well, I abandoned pastels after one class.  The dust drove my allergies crazy and it just didn’t make my heart sing.  I liked watercolors and oils (abstract not portrait or landscape) but they got put on hold once I discovered pottery.  My first teacher, Louis “Barry” MacHale was an inspiring quirky dear soul.  We became artistic soulmates right out of the gate.  He could convince me to try anything in clay.  My third piece was a teapot (not trivial by any means) and I was hooked.  So I made pottery one full day a week with Barry in between all the knitting.  And I squeezed in time to sing with the choir and serve as music director and assistant stage director for a local production of Oklahoma.