For those with two left thumbs, fiber arts might seem like an impossible craft. Crocheting, knitting, sewing, embroidering, weaving and quilting all require a certain degree of hand-eye coordination.

Let me describe my life with Pat the super-knitter - a highly trained, finely tuned, left-handed knitting machine who wields sharps objects (knitting needles) like samurai swords. It's instructive to ...