From time to time you may hear a knitter say, "I had to give my knitting a time-out."

Remember when we were all two-year-olds at the age of 7.  We'd pound our fists, stomp around, possibly yelling nastiness as anyone who would listen to us (and most likely the listener was a loving parent wondering what monster had just occupied their child).  Those wild and crazy tantrums we'd through, just because we got frustrated trying to do something.  Now we look backwards, reflecting on our lives, and how elegant we've managed to become.  We tell our children how we walked uphill, both ways, over 10 miles just to get to school.  We giggle with others about silly things we are now easily able to accomplish.  We're setting ourselves apart from the negativity of frustration or "writer's block".  Yeah, right.

Don't be fooled.  Tell me just how many times you frogged your last row before throwing your own tantrum and severely maimming your work?  It took me three attempts Friday morning in the car on the way to work.  And then, without a word, without any anger--I sentenced my lace piece to a day of time out in my knitting basket.  IT needed to get it's anger and anymosity out of itself before it became worthy again to be held by my ever-loving hands.

Time-out:  The essence of being able to blame your knitting for your tantrum, and then the action of being able to send it away shamefully until the anger has dissipated enough to be worked on again.

(I have a knitted afghan in my stash...It's been in time-out status for about 8 years now.  I'm still patiently awaiting it's return.)