In 2009, at the suggestion of my baby brother's fiancee, I decided to live the American Dream: I cashed out my retirement plan from the government job I'd held for nearly ten years to open local yarn shop Clever Knits.
The prior year had been fraught with difficulties both personal and professional. Finally in my 'dream job' working as an administrator for an artist-technologist collective at UC San Diego, I became so ill that I was unable to work. I took an extended leave of absence from the position to focus on the wild ride of treatments and diagnostics, a game of trial-and-error that left me so sick I was unable to dress, feed, or bathe myself. My mother had to come rescue me from my apartment; she took me under her wing, packed everything I own, and moved me into her home. Under her care, it was a matter of just months before I was well enough to take on the adventure of a lifetime.
I'd taught myself to knit when I started graduate school at the beginning of the decade. I never completed the Master's program in Literature and Writing. Though I finished all the coursework, it seems my attention was more easily kept by knitting than by thesis-writing. Now knitting is my livelihood.
My best college friend, Sarah, once said about me: "Helena has no fewer than five stalkers at any given point in time." This has proven to be true for reasons that I have never understood. If you're interested in stalking me, I am currently accepting applications. You should contact me. If you're any good, you will know how to do that without me spelling it out for you.
If you don't want to stalk me, but you just want to say "Hi," I can be reached at: sanctimony.net@gmail.com
If you're not sure where to start, I've picked out a few of my favourite posts for you to peek at.