My best and worst memory of Knitting

I learned how to knit when I was in 2nd grade, my teacher taught all the girls in her class. I learned fast, but I wanted to skip steps to make things faster. I don't remember finishing anything that year or the following years. Then when I was in what here is called Middle School, I had to take classes like cooking, sewing (which was the first time I realized I like sewing, I have to tell you about it later.) electricity, carpentry and of course knitting and crotchet. I loved my knitting teacher, she always provided me with the materials to make my projects cause my parents couldn't afford them, I remember I made a pair of crotchet sleepers which I used until they wore off. I also made a yellow dress that I had to undo afterwords to use the yarn for something else, yeah, that's how poor I was!! Later on I made some blouses for my mom, one in crotchet that took me forever and one knitted, she wore them until they wore off too, she loved them. I made her a vest with a crotchet needle and a big, fat knitting needle, I need to try that again and see what comes out of it.
I made a scarf with all the knitting stitches I learned with my teacher. I also made a book with the crotchet stitches I learned, I still have both. The yarn for the scarf is the same one I used to make the dress I told you before, this one of the few balls of yarn my parents bought me.

I had one crotchet magazine and I made my brother a pillow cover of what look like an owl, but it was actually a badger, we had never seen a badger so we thought that the word "tejón" (badger in Spanish) was owl in some other hispanic country, we were 13 and 1, it was our joke, every time we saw the pillow we laughed and laughed, he was the brother I got along the best with, I have 9!! but he was like my best friend, he died, and I didn't keep the pillow case, too sad! :(  
Anyway, from that magazine also I tried to make some other pillow cases, it was all about pillow cases, but I started one that I never finished, mostly because at that time I did not have a clue on how to read crotchet or knitting patterns so I was guessing and following the pictures, and I got bored fast from that.
One sweet old lady taught me how to make socks with 5 needles and I make a pair with red yarn, I wore them so much they had holes everywhere, I loved them and I was proud of them, it was my best knitting project ever, I was 14 when I made those.
So those were some of my favorite things. I guess my worst memory of knitting is the one sweater I started for my dad and I told him it was for Christmas, then on Christmas I told him it was for Father's Day, and so on for three years, then he died and I looked at the unfinished sweater, undid it (for like the 10th time) with a lot of anger, and put the yarn away forever. I was 17.
Four years ago, two weeks after my oldest daughter was born, I really got the urge to knit, I didn't have any desire to crotchet, but I wanted to learn to read knitting patterns and make a dress for my daughter's blessing day. So, I started a dress without a pattern, I had no clue how to do it, so I undid it quite some times, then I gave up cause her blessing day came and passed. I put it aside and knitted my husband a hat, again without a pattern, I had to undo it some times as well, until it fit. Two years later I decided I had enough of guessing how to make stuff,  so I got the book "Knitting for Dummies" and learned how to read patterns, I thought, wow, this is the easiest thing ever!! then I went and got my old scarf with all those stitches, and knitted some here and there. I thought, wow, this is relaxing!!! I made the dress, finally, I didn't follow a pattern! je je je!! But I did follow a pattern to make the little booties.

For me Knitting  is relaxing, is the "me time" that I need, really, it is, I love it! and I wish I was like those gurus who create things, all I can do is be creative with the things others have created so I can make them my own.
Do you think knitting is relaxing? which one you like best, knitting or crotchet? why