NaBloPoMo Day 19: Knitting Heals Me, I Heal With Knitting

[untonuggan]

"When I attended my father at his deathbed, knitting enabled me to sit still and pay attention. Knitting expanded time into a kind of spaciousness, allowing me to be present at occasions from which I would rather have escaped. What I lived informed my knitting and what I learned from knitting informed my life."

- Susan Gordon Lydon, Knitting Heaven and Earth: Healing the Heart with Craft, 2005

It is late, I am tired, I do not really have a more elaborate way of saying "ditto" except...

I had been feeling a kind of burnout, after knitting 8 holiday ornaments in three days. Something akin to hating stockinette but not wanting to try another stitch.

Then my friend who just moved to NYC and is an artist was talking to me on the phone when I was having a bad day. She was out and she was cold because there's a big difference in temperature from where she was before and NYC, and she couldn't find most of her winter accessories because moving.

A friend who is cold? That is a knitter's call to arms! At least, it was for me because I've known A. since I was 8 and we're still, somehow, friends despite a couple of bumps.

Long story short, I am no longer feeling blocked creatively and instead have many ideas. And she is getting a gorgeous set of warm things (assuming I finish the cowl soon, why did I make a plan that involved purling again?) with vintage buttons on them. WIN. *secretly considering keeping thing them for herself but knows that would break the magic spell and besides would not solve problem of cold friend and our heads are different sizes*

Comments

[eruanna]

I had a long bout of knitting burnout, too, recently. Now I have so many ideas and projects I want to make right now and my finger joints are swollen (arthritis) and I can only knit ve-ry slow-ly. Still helps keeps my hands from being too stiff, though, so I do a little when I can. You're right; it's very calming. That's why I keep knitting, even if I can only do a round or two before I have to rest.

I don't know which style of knitting you usually do (English, Continental, combination ...) but if you haven't tried purling like this, or similar, you might like it, or find it more comfortable. When I first started knitting, I learned from a book, and threw the yarn with my right hand. But my arthritis is more severe in my right hand. So about a year later, I switched to holding the yarn in my left hand. It seems like I have less movement of my thumb and wrist, so it's less painful for me. My actual method is self-taught, from experimentation, but this looks pretty close to what I do. Now, I don't find purling any harder than knitting, unless I have to do something weird, like purl through the back loop (ugh! have you tried that? so awkward!)

[untonuggan]

Oooh, thanks for the link and thanks for reading! :D

[geeksdoitbetter]

whaaAatt!

holding the yarn around the left *thumb*!

that's ingenious and i can't wait to go home and practice it ~bounce~

[eruanna]

I think it makes it makes ribbing go faster, or easier, too, even for a slow, clumsy knitter like me. There is another video from the same person on ribbing. Hope it works for you! :-)

[geeksdoitbetter]

"our heads are different sizes"

that's the key to appearing gracious about giving things away! ~grin~

[untonuggan]

Heee~!