Benefits of Knitting

There are some articles floating around the internet again about the benefits of knitting. On the one hand, it's nice when the media has something nice to say about your hobby. On the other hand, do we really need to defend what we do?

Knitting has gone in and out of favor over the years, including a solid block of time as a Men Only Club (think Medieval craft guilds--no girls allowed). In my lifetime (which does NOT include the aforementioned Medieval era, no matter how old my kids think I am) there has been a resurgence, as young crafters have discovered how much fun it is to knit, and yarn and needle producers have discovered that the more yarn and needles they produce, the more money they make and the happier we knitters are to have choices.

As it so happens, I already have a rocking chair. So there.

Along with the resurgence has come more than a few dismissive observations:

• Scorn:  "My grandmother used to knit"--this implies that not even decrepit old ladies still do such a dumb thing.
• Ridicule:  "You do know you can BUY a pair of socks for $2 from Wal-Mart, right? You don't HAVE to make them yourself."--this implies that I shop at Wal-Mart, but am also so stupid that I am totally ignorant of mass production.
• Profiling:  "All you need now is a rocking chair!" -this implies that either I am prematurely gray under my Clairol or worse still, old at heart.

Negative comments have made us a bit defensive, and so we tout studies about the therapeutic benefits to arthritic hands and aging brains as excellent reasons why we knit.

All hobbies that involve working with one's hands have physically beneficial side effects--wood working, fly fishing, sewing, painting, and ceramics are only a few examples, because there are so many. Any hobby that engages your mind will have mental benefits. Any hobby that can be social in nature will improve your happiness through relationships with fellow enthusiasts. Why must knitting be singled out to be defended for its helpful merits?

I read somewhere (Yarn Harlot, I think) that worldwide, there are more knitters than golfers. When was the last time you heard someone brag on the benefits of golf to justify greens fees? (I am not dissing golf in any way, I promise.)

The next time another "helpful" article about the benefits of knitting comes across your path, think about it from this perspective. Is knitting something that needs to be justified? Or can we all just agree it is something we enjoy and leave it at that? One day, non-knitters will be the ones who feel as though they must explain why they don't knit. Until that newsworthy day, I plan to keep knitting, happily secure in the thought that I needn't defend it to anyone.

Holiday Hijinks, with Knitting

Actually, "hijinks" might be too strong a word choice here, but I really like the word "hijinks" so I used it. I have a list that I keep of words that I like, because I like words and I like lists, so that makes sense to me. Some random words from my list: pith, conflagration, vim and foible...but I digress.

I can tend to get a little freaked out about holidays. (If you examine that sentence, and remove the superfluous cushions, you'll see: I get freaked out about holidays.) Maybe it's the perfectionist people-pleaser in me, but whatever the cause, holidays get to me. We took a "holiday quiz" a few years ago and the kids picked Halloween as their favorite holiday because Mom doesn't get stressed about Halloween. Halloween requires virtually nothing from me and the expectation levels are healthy and I love pumpkins, so yeah, Halloween is pretty much stress-free. This was pretty enlightening to me, as I assumed that Christmas would top their Favorite Holiday list, but it turns out that Christmas tops the list for Holidays That Stress Mom Out. (Why is that even a list?)

It's true. Christmas can be one long session of nightmare workaholic perfectionist guilt: cards, gifts, shopping, movies, parties, performances, outfits, cookies, food, etc. I know this will sound very Grinch-like, but wow can we cram one more thing into that month? And as it is now mid-October all this holiday madness is only mere days away and I'm exhausted already. What's that? You, too? I knew I wasn't alone.

OK, so here's the plan: We are NOT going to panic. Once upon a time, Christmas was something we loved. Like an exciting new knitting project that over time loses its momentum, Christmas needs to be dug out of the bag under the bed and faced head on.

Remember how we purged projects and yarn in Finish For Fall? It felt good to focus and know what was worth taking the time to finish (beaded scarf we hate, NO; socks for hubby, YES). We are going to make a list, several lists if needed. Examine the holidays. What stresses you out? What should you keep? What should you never ever, under any circumstances, do again during the holiday season? And my favorite: What would a stress-free holiday look like? (It looks like Halloween, but I'm pretty sure they won't let me celebrate that in October AND December, too. It's pretty much a one-shot deal.) All of those perfect holidays we see in magazines and on Pinterest and HGTV are not going to happen for us because we are not a full-time staff of decorators, seamstresses and cooks. Unless you in fact are a staff of such, in which case, go for it.

I know that you just can't spring A Different Christmas This Year on your unsuspecting family. I've tried it and believe me, you don't want to go there. This will take strategy and preparedness and a plan. In the long run, if you are happier, more relaxed and actually able to enjoy your holiday, the family will come around, provided you first ease them into it.

Here are some tips for calming the hijinks in your holiday. They are knitting-related because that's what this blog is supposed to be about...

• Do not try to cast on a project after November 1 for giving in December. Madness.
• Do try to knit a little bit every day.  It's your hobby and it brings you pleasure. Don't neglect it till January.  Don't neglect YOU till January, either.
• Don't laugh in the face of the friend who offers to pay you to knit a sweater for their co-worker's Christmas gift. This may be your first impulse, but curb it in the spirit of the holiday. Politely but firmly thank them for their confidence in your abilities, but decline the offer. Then you can laugh, just not in their face.
• Don't be upset if you can't finish a holiday gift in time (which we all know you started before Nov. 1, right?). My sweet friend Dianne has proof that even an unfinished gift is well-loved.
• Do try to remember that you once anticipated the holiday season with excitement, not dread. Like rediscovering neglected old yarn that you loved when you bought it, find a purpose for the holiday that will make it fun again.

Christmas and other holidays are not bad, they just need dusting off and refurbishing. Underneath all of the unrealistic expectations, holidays still have some vim, they needn't turn into a conflagration of stress and accentuate all our foibles.

2008. Seems like yesterday.

The pith, the essence of it all is this:

Even if you don't have kids, the people you spend your holidays with aren't getting any younger (and neither are you, but you look marvelous, so don't let it get you down). If we can just figure out how to spend less time trying to put Martha Stewart out of a job, we will be able to find the time to tell someone they are special. And isn't that what the holiday hijinks are about after all?

SAFF Bound, Indigo To-Go

Here at KnitOasis Central, we've been hard at work preparing some lovely knitting indigo kits for sale at SAFF, The Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair.

Every year, farmers, yarn merchants, spinners, dyers, and assorted crafts people and small business owners gather to teach, learn, compete, share, mingle and more at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher, NC. Last year I made it for one day and was so impressed with the atmosphere of creativity and camaraderie. There was so much to see and do and buy.

My friend Pat Lorenz at Bird Mountain Creations invited me to be part of her booth this year (#72 in the McGough Arena) and I'm planning on having a fantastic time for the following reasons:

• Pat is a hoot and a half. When you meet her, you'll see what I mean. I will also be surrounded by her amazing creations. Art for daysssss.....
• I will get to see lots of lovely folks that I only ever see at events like this.
• I'll have the chance to show off some indigo, talk about indigo, and hopefully, sell some indigo kits!

This amazing fabric will be lining for hand-knit bag kits. I love it all so much, it's kinda hard to part with any of them!

Are you going to be at SAFF this year? If so, please come see me! No trip to any event is ever complete for me without seeing folks I know and making new friends. Heck, that also applies to going to the grocery store! Please stop by and say hello. If we've yet to meet in person, all the better. I can't wait to see you all!

I'll have two kits available: The Charleston Indigo Scarf kit (includes pattern and 500 yards of 100% cotton yarn, hand-dyed with natural indigo) and the Indigo To-Go Accessory Bag kit (includes pattern, zipper and 100% cotton yarn and fabric, both hand-dyed with natural indigo). The bag is a brand new pattern and will be available for the first time at SAFF!

100% cotton, 100% natural indigo, 100% special.

A Beautiful Day for Beautiful Blue

Somewhere along the way I lost track of how many indigo workshops I've conducted at the Charleston Museum. Today I counted and the one we just held on Saturday, October 4 was number six! I feel in some ways as though I've never NOT been conducting indigo workshops, and at the same time, as though I'll never learn all there is to know about this magical blue dyestuff.

The weather on Saturday was one of those pristine autumn days that make you fall in love with Charleston all over again. It was cool and dry with a light breeze that kept any of our famous Lowcountry mosquitoes away, so we set up just outside the Museum's courtyard breezeway and began prepping the vats for dyeing.

Many of our attendees this time had dyed before or were involved with yarn or fabric on a regular basis. It always pleases me to find a varied group of students with different motivations and perspectives. Everyone who comes to one of my workshops (or knitting classes!) brings so much for me to learn as well. I love my job!

Jan Heister, Curator of Textiles at the Museum showed off items from the collection and gave an entertaining look at the history of indigo in both South Carolina and beyond.

Then it was time to dye! This time we focused on fabric--a canvas bag and a cotton scarf were our playthings and we got some gorgeous results. Each student was encouraged to bring an item from home as well and my favorite was a purple sweatshirt that overdyed to a magnificent blue.

Yes, it was a beautiful day and, as usual, I can't wait to do it all again!