I am a self taught knitter. When I was a teenager, I was hit by a drunk driver and hospitalized for several months. I asked my mother to bring me yarn, a book and knitting needles....that was many decades ago. That just goes to prove that there is always a silver lining to that dark cloud. I am still knitting and love it. I also did machine knitting for a number of years, but am now back to my first love of hand knitting exclusively. I am a retired air traffic controller and split my time between SW Florida and the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of upstate NY.