The [K]nothingness of Knitting

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Clyde's 3-corner wool hat, top

Clyde's 3-corner wool hat, front

I have crocheted since I was a kid, but I re-discovered knitting in my 40’s, when I bought a silly hand-knit dreadlock hat from a Peruvian woman in Minneapolis and wanted to copy the pattern. I love the feel of wool—I have a terribly neglected spinning wheel and a huge stash of raw silk, as well as sheep, alpaca, and even some camel wool I could be spinning into gorgeous yarns. I’ll get started on that as soon as I can fit into my Sleeping Beauty dress & gauntlets again.

Joe's & Masha's Tassel Hats

In the meantime, I have two baskets beside my chair. I keep one filled with balls/skeins of every conceivable weight, texture, and color of yarn. The other holds my current knitting projects; I usually have at least two going, so I don’t get bored. I’m already stockpiling next year’s Christmas presents. I’m also building a stash of baby hats for any family/friend new arrivals who pop out next year, and for my amazing sister-in-law, who does mission work in Haiti twice a year and takes baby hats to new Haitian moms (you can donate to this local organization by going to http://www.helpinghandsforhaiti.com/donate).

BS Brain Hat, in progress

I’ve always felt like knitting allows me to sit around and watch bad TV, guilt-free, without my grandma’s “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” ringing in my slightly-addled brain (I don’t believe in the devil, but I DO believe in my grandma's ability to come back from the Great Beyond and give me SUCH a scolding). And since BS, knitting has also been providing me with two other essential functions: Occupational therapy and mindfulness practice.

Handwarmers, Tassel Hat, Dreadlock Hat

When I first got home from the hospital, knitting was painfully slow. I didn’t have much fine-motor control on my left side, so even holding a knitting needle was rough. But I stuck with it. Mom and I watched movies and knitted simple square dishrags. As my brain re-routed, knitting got easier. Shucks…I’d wager the knitting actually helped my brain forge new neural pathways. And it was waaaay more interesting than raising my arms to shoulder-level three times, which was one of the THREE exercises a therapist gave me on my ONE visit; the other two were to touch my nose with my left index finger, and to lift my left leg from a seated position (I never went back to “therapy”). In fact, everything about knitting was stimulating for my struggling brain and my clunky left side—feeling the yarn, winding skeins into balls on a nostepinde, coordinating colors, choosing needles, and the knitting itself. And finishing a project helped me see that I was making progress not just in my hat stash, but also in my stroke recovery.

Crystal's Tassel Hat

I also discovered that I could turn knitting into meditation. Sans the bad TV, I could sit in a quiet room and simply be aware of the knitting—the feel of the yarn, the clickety-clack of my bamboo needles, the repetitive motion of yarning-over, the patient progress of adding one stitch at a time to a whole. I could practice not letting my mind wander beyond the knitting itself, not running scenarios in my head of the past or possible futures, not having imaginary conversations with a bill collector, not righting imaginary wrongs. I could practice being present—just keeping my attention on the knitting. It was/is incredibly peaceful and healing...therapeutic.

Super Sunny Handwarmers

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not just idling, burning patchouli incense and developing “knitter’s spread”—that Laz-y-Girl-shaped arse with its bulgy cushion of Doritos’ fat. I’m doing other kinds of therapy, as well: Baking, cooking, dishes, laundry, Christmas prep and cleanup, dog-walking, going to the gym, and getting ready for school (I go back to teaching half-time next week). But whenever I get a chance, you’ll find me cranking out another knitting project. Because every three-cornered wool clown hat improves my hand-eye coordination, stills my racing Type-A mind, and makes this a warmer, happier world.