That seems like the ultimate dorky statement of the year…One knits while knitting, right?! Oh no, that is like saying that one just eats at mealtimes! meals, especially family meals are all about connecting, commenting, gossiping, advising, laughing and sharing. The food is just incidental.
This reminds me of that last lunch gathering at home. Four young adults, two perpetually hungry dogs, and one perpetually young hostess ( me) gathered at the table. There was a big pot of green Thai curry, another cooking pot of Chicken Curry, and the rice cooker filled with white, fluffy rice. Two pickle jars ( garlic and lemon) on one side, a big jug of water and glasses on the other and that was that! It was a wonderful memorable meal and the food was just incidental!
so, what do I do while knitting?! This month, with my big throw knitting in progress, I have had to give a lot of time to knitting. Not just time, there was a significant contribution of muscle and might thrown in too. My aching arms gave up the fight and I had to rest with pain killers and blankets. But that is another story.
so then, what do I do while knitting?
Knitting can be a meditative process in which the mind is lulled by the repetitive, smooth flow of yarn between the needles. I find that knitting is a great time to sort out thoughts and plans jostling in my mind. It can be at time for gratitude or greed, depending on the last meal before the knitting session.
When the desire to meditate fades out, I turn to books and newspapers. Having learnt and practiced the art of knitting without looking at my knitting needles, I find that I read and assimilate best when there is knitting on my fingers and words on my mind. These days, I read this website’s offerings as often as I read books. The exasperation of turning or turned pages has distanced me from paper, but this little brass page weight has helped to bring the joy back into the printed page!
I watch re-runs of old serials which the girls have recorded in the hard disk. Community, Friends and Modern Family top the list for complicated knitting sessions in which I can miss a laugh or two while working on a particularly complicated cable twist or pattern. For mindless stocking stitch knitting, I prefer Sherlock, Castle and Monk in which I can participate in the unfolding of the murder mystery and come out with the wrong suspect, even if I am watching a re-run.
Evening TV serials on Zindagi have been stopped….thereby underling the fundamental truth regarding serials– ” after a while, serials become the same fare–frozen emotions till the next episode, endless stretching of incidents and boredom”. I am giving myself a break from the TV these days and have moved onto…..
PODCASTS!! There is a whole new brave world out there! People in general, knitters in particular, are taking a break from their knitting needles, grabbing a microphone, and talking sense, nonsense, knitting horror stories, tips and tricks, music and poetry…..all in a podcast which ranges from 30 mins to more. I am currently savoring old episodes of this Welsh production, and have this one and this one for alternative listening times!
My knitting has moved into social spaces now.. I take my bag to parties, evening tea visits and to the golf course.
There is a lot to be said for sitting on the apartment steps… sunshine warming one’s shoulders, dogs lolling around and knitting happening through the afternoon hours.
There is a lot to be said for knitting with friends and cups of tea and conversation.
And finally, there is a lot to be said for knitting. “Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either”..Elizabeth Zimmerman ( 1910-1999),Knitting Goddess of the Twentieth Century.