I never would have learned how to knit if I hadnt gotten Optic Neuritis.

I learned how to do the knit stitch a day or two before my eye went all weird on me. Wasnt planning on keeping up with the knitting tho. But then my eye went wacky on me, and I decided to buy some knitting needles on my way to the opthalmologist to see what was wrong with my eye.

Casted on some yarn in the optho's waiting room, and knitted back and forth (making lots of mistakes) while waiting. When I went for my MRI the next day, I was seriously nervous (and drugged) and played around with the knitting needles while in the waiting room at the MRI place.

Knitted on that same project to keep myself calm for the next 4 months while waiting for a diagnosis.

Finished that project (a crappy looking scarf) a few months after I got diagnosed. My dad stole the scarf last fall because he liked it. (he's a sometimes knitter too and just wanted something to keep his face warm)

I'd already been a crocheter for more than 30yrs before I learned to knit...learned to crochet when I was 6.. While I was freaking out over possibly having MS, I didnt crochet. I was freaking and nothing in crochet would hold my interest. So I'm glad the knitting was there to keep me calm. I still prefer crochet over knitting, but I noticed that when I'm a bit freaked by the MS stuff, knitting distracts me better...probably because I'm still learning how to do it. (finally learned how to purl stitches last summer and things finally look like they do in the pictures)

I need to get back to a project that I abandoned while in the pre-MS Panic. I was crocheting a sweater...it's still laying in my closet, sans the sleeves. I'm actually tempted to knit the sleeves if I could figure out exactly how to make them.