Janet Szabo

Seventeen years ago, I was preparing to attend medical school. I was not planning a career as a professional knitter. It's funny how things work out.Instead of heading for medical school, I got married and worked as a tech support specialist for a software developer in Baltimore. I knew that my husband had a fantasy of moving to Montana but I didn't really think he was serious. We renovated an old farmhouse in Pennsylvania and had our first child. When the house was finished, we put it up for sale and we moved to Montana.

I've been here for fourteen years, and I love it. I often tell my husband that the only way I am leaving Montana is kicking and screaming. I won't go willingly. I didn't come willingly.

We moved here in September 1993. The thought of moving 2500 miles away from my family, to the middle of nowhere, with a one year-old child, was not appealing—to say the least. But I love adventure (and my husband) so I did it anyway. And then, nine months after we got here, I got leukemia. All of a sudden I was forced to leave Montana and return to Cleveland for six months of chemotherapy at the Cleveland Clinic. Fortunately, the course of treatment I had was sufficient to put my leukemia in remission, and there it has stayed since.

One thing (among many) that I learned from having a potentially fatal illness is that recovering from it isn't like getting over the flu. You don't just wake up one day, suddenly all better. I've heard other cancer survivors say that it helps to have a project, a goal, to give you a reason to get up in the morning and not worry about the cancer coming back. Good-paying jobs are a scarce commodity in Montana. I needed something I could do at home. It was my husband who finally said, "You're always knitting—can't you figure out some way to make money doing it?" That was all the challenge I needed.

It took a couple of years of trying (unsuccessfully) to sell my idea for a finishing book to publishers before I decided to do it myself (the first copies were printed in July of 1996). It did so well that I published the Handbook of Aran Sweater Design about 18 months later. In between, I did the Master Knitting program from TKGA. In 1999, I taught at Stitches Midwest and it all took off from there. I really enjoyed traveling and teaching, but it's difficult with two small children. And when I started publishing Twists and Turns, I decided that teaching needed to be put on the back burner for a while.

I would describe myself as more determined than talented—it took several years to build up confidence as a designer—but it seems that the most successful people are the ones who are the most determined. And for me, success is a lot more than money or fame. Success is a job I love—one which allows me to be home with my kids, manage my husband's construction business, putter in my garden, enjoy the beauty of Montana, and (of course) knit a lot. Every day is an adventure. Who could ask for more?

Happy knitting. It's the only kind you should have.

P.S. Take a look at my own site if you have a few minutes to spare www.bigskyknitting.com