well john, i DO believe in zimmerman!!

elizabeth zimmerman that is!

she is a genius. for those that don't know her, she's a knitting goddess. born in the thirties in europe, she moved to america at a young age and changed the way the world looks at knitting (or, at the very least, she changed the way that i looked at knitting). she challenged the notion that one must follow patterns, sew seams, and purl. and for this i'm grateful.

she does not hold your hand while knitting; rather she provides guidelines and leaves you to figure the rest out. she fosters independence by discouraging any sort of reliance on knitting "experts" and blind acceptance of knitting "rules" (e.g. that one must sew all pieces of a sweater together) and shows you how to draw upon your own creativity with basic math skills. she teaches you to nut up, stop making excuses and get to work.   

she taught me to have a relaxed attitude toward knitting, gain independence in my knitting, have confidence in my knitting and fix mistakes in my knitting (as opposed to crying about it, throwing massive temper-tantrums, doing nothing to fix the mistake, and starting all over). these lessons have transfered into my real life as well; she helped me unlearn the lessons that years of formal education taught me...that i am indeed a competent human being and that i can do shit myself as opposed to a lame minion who must follow the rules laid out for me. that i can dictate my own fashion and call all the shots.i'm certain that she has indirectly helped me overcome my drive for perfection by teaching me that perfection in knitting (and in life) is absolutely silly and ridiculous. i learned to loosen up my tension as i knit and simultaneously, learned to loosen up in life as well.

thanks EZ, you are definitely one of my heros...if i could choose one person that i could sit and have a conversation with, it would be you. you rebellious knitting punk genius you. rar.

the two following pictures are projects of hers which i have individualized and tailored to my children. 

these are diaper pants made for my new baby. they fit beautifully over her oversized cloth-diapered ass.

this is my third of three tomten jackets (the other two can be viewed here)