76
KEEP
CALM
AND
Me-time MOMENT...
Cast On!
SIMPLE WAYS TO BRING
MINDFULNESS INTO YOUR
WORLD – AND YOUR KNITTING!
“Being creative isn’t about skill. It’s
about trying. Throw yourself intoit and enjoy it as you go. The process
is the bit that is good for our
heads, not the outcome.”
FEARNE COTTONSpring has arrived. Are you knitting
bunnies? I’m thinking of frogs.
But I’m eating chocolate bunnies,
you know the sort, the ones in the
golden wrapper with the little red
ribbon around their neck. It puts
me in mind of this
time last year, when
I attended a huge
global knitting show
in Cologne. It’s full
of inspiration and
colour, but as if that
wasn’t enough, I
noticed that said
chocolate bunny
museum was just across the river!
I just had to visit. They let you try
the chocolate as you walk from a
temperate greenhouse with real
cocoa trees to the production
line. Bear in mind I was carrying
multiple bags of yarn at this point
(one can never have too many), but
fortunately I then discovered the
cafe. So, with my bags covering alot of floor space next to my table,
I sat down to chocolate torte
washed down with hot chocolate.
I started to knit a few rows, as
one does, whilst mindfully eating
the torte, and I was so consumed in
the smooth velvet chocolate
that I went off pattern, and
not just on one row! That’s
when the frogs appeared.
Not physically, but mentally.
Ripping out in knitting can
be referred to as ‘frogging’- I believe it’s because if
one says ‘rip it, rip it, rip it’
multiple times it sounds like
a frog croaking. So, I learnt from my
mistakes, failing to concentrate on an
intricate stitch pattern while mindfully
enjoying chocolate torte!
Whether Easter for you is a
religious festival or a new moon, both
celebrate new beginnings. Enjoy the
chocolate mindfully while you knit,
and knit mindfully while you enjoy
the chocolate. But beware of frogs!
SERENE STATIONERY
Give your crafting table a mindful makeover1 Knitting For Inner Peace notebook by Kelly Connor Designs,
£5.50 from etsy.com(^2) Positive Vibes Only pencils by LucyMadeMe, £1.50 from etsy.com
(^3) Folk floral memo block, £7 from paperchase.com
The new Super Simple Collection from MillaMia
epitomises weekend comfort and ease, with garments
you’ll want to slip on and slouch in. Whilst unfussy in
shape and fit, these pieces employ a range of techniques
- perfect for a spell of mindful knitting. There are six
designs, including textured and colour-block jumpers,
a reversible jacket and this cable-focused design called
Stina, which is knitted in MillaMia Naturally Soft Super
Chunky. The pattern costs £3.90. To find out more about
the collection, call 01409 404010 or visit lovecrafts.com
FROGS,
yes frogs!
Dr Thomas Ernst FRCP says...Mindful knitting with
JAMES MCINTOSH
knitmcintosh.com“Mindfulness is about accepting the present, not judging
or analysing it, while feeling the sensations in your
body. This can be practised in many ways, such as
when eating, or when knitting. I call this ‘knititation.”
Dr Thomas Ernst FRCP is a senior consultant physician at a
leading London teaching hospital specialising in mindfulness1
2
3
“ I was so
consumed in the
smooth velvet
chocolate that I
went off pattern”