Purl About Town
LAURA ‘PURL PRINCESS’ PARKINSON ASKS A BIG QUESTION AND HER
KNITTING GROUP PROVIDES THE ANSWERS
96I was having an uncharacteristically
philosophical day when the question
“why do we knit?” popped into my mind.
I thought about the many reasons that
brought me to the craft and the many
others that have kept me in it for so many
years. And then as I thought about why
other people knit, I realised that for each
knitter the answer is different. There is
no single unifying purpose, but there are
definitely some recurring themes.
When I came to knitting as an adult it
was because life was made up of two basic
activities: working and going out. I wanted
something else in my life that was neither
of those things, and knitting
filled the space nicely.
The “why” I knitted at
that moment was
to fill a void and
do something
different from
my day-to-
day normality.
The “why” then
became much
bigger. Knitting gave
me fun, joy, entertainment,
skills, relaxation, friends and
conversation. It became a huge
part of my life, surpassing going
out and nearly equalling the
working part. Then of course
it became part of my work
when I began writing for this
magazine. Something that once
filled a space had knitted itself
wonderfully around almost
everything in my life.
On a daily basis and
sometimes several times a
day, the “why” of knitting canshift. At some points it feels as essential as
breathing, whereas at others it’s a challenge
to even pick up the needles. A near
constant reason for why I knit is friendship.
Knitting gives me a diverse group of friends
and a connection to my local community I
simply would never have had otherwise. So,
I put the question of “why” to my knitting
group and, as predicted, the answers were
varied. I’ve grouped them by the recurring
themes that came up:l To make something you can’t buy
l It’s fun and challenging
l To keep busy/not waste time/be
productive during unproductive
moments
l It’s meditative/calms my mind/can be
a welcome distraction
l Helps me concentrate
l It’s relaxing/restful/I sleep better when
I knit
l I feel accomplishment/pride/it’s
rewarding/satisfying
l The social aspect/I’m not looking at
my phonel It’s something just for me
l I’m learning/sharing skills
l It keeps me from bad habits
like smoking or snacking
l I knit so I don’t kill peopleLooking across these themes, I can
see that knitting is saving us from the
trappings of modern life. It’s giving us so
many benefits while seamlessly slotting
into everything the world has to throw
at us. With its repetitive motion the act
of knitting puts you in a near meditative
state and is proven to lower your heart
rate. Medical studies have been done
on the benefits of knitting for mental
health, anxiety, depression and arthritis,
and it is linked to slowing cognitive
decline. Now, I’m not promoting knitting
as a magic cure-all, but as far as I know
nothing bad ever came out of it. Perhaps
knitting should be part of the curriculum
again, helping raise adults who have a
way to calm themselves, focus, meditate,
feel good about themselves and do
something creative. It certainly couldn’t
do any harm.
In answer to the question “why do we
knit?” I can only really give one answer: all
of the above.FOR MORE RAMBLINGS OF A PURL ABOUT TOWN CLICK ON DOWN TO
INSTAGRAM.COM/PURLABOUTTOWNMUST KNIT:
A few of my knitting group have
enjoyed making the Knit-O-Matic
Bulky Möbius Cowl by Haley
Waxberg. Taking just one skein of
gorgeous Malabrigo Rasta yarn, this
is a simple, soothing pattern with a
twist (literally). Download it for free
from ravelry.com.MUST LISTEN:
Wild and Woolly in London is
releasing 15-minute talks on niche
areas of knitting interest each
month in a podcast called Knit 15.
Check out some serious geekery
around subjects such as left-leaning
decreases and shoulder shaping at
wildandwoollyshop.co.uk