Art knitting that worked! (no pattern, just creating as I go)

I went to a LYS looking for a coordinating carry-along yarn, and the owner discouraged me from my idea for this coat. She felt it was ‘too busy’; and I could tell by the look on her face she thought it was tacky. I lost confidence in my design abilities and was so discouraged by this that I stopped knitting for 6 months.

When I started knitting again I thought ‘screw her’ and went ahead with the coat anyway. I’m so glad I did because the coat came out great, which restored my confidence and love of knitting. I’ve had 2 strangers offer to buy the coat right off of my body.

Now I know there are 2 types of knitters: ‘old school’ who only like traditional knitting, and ‘new school’ who look at knitting as an outlet for artistic expression.