Simply Knitting - UK (2019-09)

PURLS OF WISDOM

32 Subscribe at http://www.theyarnloop.com/simply-knitting

N

ormally,whenit comesaroundto

writingthiscolumn,I siftthrough

allmyprojectstodecidewhich

onesI wanttofeature.ButthistimeI had

nosuchchoicebecauserecentlyI’vebeen

focusingonthereasonI startedknittingin

thefirstplace:mymentalhealth.Youknow

thesayingstopandsmelltheroses?Well,

I’mslowingtoenjoythestitches.I getso

excitedaboutknittingprojectsthatI tend

torushrightthroughthem,allthewhile

planningthenextthing(orindeedthings)

I’mgoingtomake.Butnotanymore.Atthe

startofthisyearI tookeveryunfinished

projectotheneedlesandunravelledthem

alltoreusetheyarn,keepingonlytwo;

a cablecardiganinaranyarnasmybig

project,anda small‘handbagknit’forwhen

I’monthego,whichisa pair of sparkly

socks for my mother.

KNITTINGFORMENTALHEALTH

Surprisingly,I havemaintainedmy

resolution!I’mstillonthesparklycardigan

becauseI’mknittingslowly,purposefully

andmindfully,enjoyingeachrowinstead

ofrushingtogetit finished.Thisyearhas

sofarbeena dicultone,withlotsoftrips

tohospital,andknittinghasdistractedme

fromthesometimes-depressingwaiting

roomsandcorridors,keptmymindbusy

onthewaytoandfromhospitalsandgot

methroughsomedicultmedicaland

familymeetings.Insteadofjustknittingon

autopilottogivemyhandssomethingtodo

whileI watchtheTV,I’mactivelyengaging

withmyproject.Andaswellasmymental

health,thiswillalsohavea positiveaecton

physicalhealth,too.I’vebeenreadingabout

therelationbetweenknittingandphysical

healthandhavediscoveredthatbyknitting

I’m actively lowering my blood pressure,

MillyKellydiscusseshowreducingthenumberof

projects on her needles has increased her wellbeing

Knittin fo healt

& happiness

This month

developingmyfinemotorskills and even

improving my memory.

A PLACEOFSAFETY

Morethanjustthebenefitsoftheactof

knittingandtheraisedself-esteemthat

comesfromfinishinga project,it’sthe

projectsthemselvesthatcontributetowards

thesenseofsafetythatcanbefoundin

knitting.Thenatureofknittingmeansyou’ll

invariablyendupwithsomethingcuddly

andwarm– a fluy scarf,a squishyjumper,

itemsthatmakeyoufeelsafe,lovedand

cuddledwhenyouwearthem.I’mWelshand

wasraisedtothinkthere’snothingthata

good‘cwtch’can’tsolve– oratleastmake

better!A hugfroma lovedoneislovelybut

it’snotoftenwegiveourselvesa littlehug.

I’veonlyjustrealisedthatI’vebeengiving

myselflittlehugsthroughmyknittingfor

yearsnow.Isn’tthata lovelythought?And

the slower you knit, the longer the cuddle!

LOVINGTHEENVIRONMENT

Thismindfulandcuddlyapproachisalso

aectinghowI chosemynextprojects.

Myresolutionofbeinganethicaland

environmentalconsumerisgoingstrong

andwhendecidingwhattoknitnext,I’m

carefullylookingthroughmystashof

yarnandpatternstoseeif I cancobble

somethingtogetherfromwhatI already

have.I foundsomefluy mohairwoolthat

I’mgoingtousetomakethePowderPu

jumperfromtheRowan 40 Yearspattern

bookI gotforChristmas.It’lltakemea

whiletoknitandit’sthecheaper,easier and

cuddlier choice – all the wins!

Gota storytotell?Tellusaboutyour

knittingworldbycontacting us at the

addresses on page 28.

I’MLOVING...

MyRowanPowderPujumper

I’mtakingtimetopickmynextproject,

goingthroughmystashandthoughtfully

pickinga yarnandpatternthatwillwork

welltogether,insteadofbuyinglotsof

new stu I might not use anyway.

I’MMAKING...

A cosycardigan

Thislovely,cuddlycablecardiganhas

twodeeppockets,whichareperfectfor

storingtissuesandbiscuits!It’sknittedin

FilandaDiamante040,sothere’sa hintof

purple sparkle in the ruby-coloured yarn.

I’MSHARING...

Sparklysocks

I’msharinglittleyarncuddlesbyknitting

sparklysocksasgiftsformyfamily.The

patternI’musingisbyJaneBurnsand

featuredinissue 151 ofSimply Knitting

back in November 2016.