Dream Big. Start Small.

by Elizabeth Goddard

Back in November I wrote a post about creativity and my new hobby, knitting. I wanted to be creative even when I wasn't writing. I envisioned myself watching movies with the fam and creating gorgeous afghans. I like to be productive every moment of the day.

Call me crazy. 

I finally took a basic knitting class in early November and by Christmas I had knitted almost a dozen scarves for family members, which I gave as gifts, of course! Never mind the temperature was in the seventies in Texas where we celebrated Christmas. I was in Minnesota and I was making everyone scarves!

Then I set my heart on making a blanket for my mother for her birthday. I had less than a month to do so, but using size 17 needles and thick yarn got me there. 

That, and listening to audiobooks. Knitting blankets requires a lot of time so then I was concerned that I wasn't spending enough time reading. I read for pleasure and as a way to keep me growing as a writer.  I tried a few audiobooks from the library but they never seemed to have the next book in the series so I finally signed up for Audible. 

Not only am I knitting like crazy, I'm still "reading" books by listening to them. One blanket took me one and a half James Rollins audiobooks, which amounts to about 20 hours of listening and knitting.

Now my daily schedule includes writing to my word count for four books a year and other writing related activities. Then in the evening, I pop in the earbuds and settle into my latest audiobook and my current knitting project. (Oh and somewhere in between I'm administrating my home school, i.e. helping someone with geometry. Please, no more Pythagorean Theorem. Ugh!)

I'm always thinking ahead to the next books I will write, looking for ideas and thinking about characters. Well, I do the same thing for knitting projects now. I have an idea Pinterest board as well as a knitting Pinterest board where I pin beautiful things I might try one day like this gorgeous blanket pinned from Ravelry.com.

Oh, let me back up. I'm a beginning knitter, in case you were wondering, and right now I'm only using the simple garter or "knit" stitch, but I got Knitting for Dummies as a Christmas gift. I'm going to work my way through.

Why am I telling you this? Because friend, you might not think you're a creative person, but everyone has creative genes in them.

I want to encourage you that whatever you dream about, whatever you think about, whatever you want to do, get out there and do it . . .

With a passion! 

Several years ago I dreamed of becoming a novelist. Now I have twenty-five novels published and counting. But I started small and kept building. I'm doing the same thing with knitting. I have dreams of becoming a fiber artist, as well, but that is years down the road. Still, I've started on the path, and you can too.

Remember.

Dream big but start small.