Why You Should Knit

I've been working on knitting the toe of this sock for three nights. Where the pattern says to weave in the ends, I am trying to do the Kitchener Stitch, which makes it look seamless. It is a little bit of knitting magic,and one of the reasons I like to knit.

Someone asked me recently why I knit. He said he just wanted to know why. He didn't think it was strange, but his raised eyebrow betrayed him. I gave him one reason, but there are many.

I like to knit because...

It is something that draws my attention, but demands nothing of me. I can set it down and walk away without resolving it's issues.

I love the way the yarn feels.

Every time I take a ball of string and two pieces of wood that look like chopsticks,spend some time with it, and it becomes a scarf or a mitten, or even a simple tube, it amazes me. (Actually, when I am able to successfully eat wtih chopsticks that amazes me too.) If you ever have the chance to turn a heel, or see someone do it, you should pay close attention. You are knitting along, and you slide stitches, and pick up some more, and in a little while you have a right angle that is the heel of a sock.

If we ever lose electricity, production plants, or other forms of power, someone will need to make clothes for us. I can do that. I can also pass the tradition so someone else can. We need to maintain the traditions that allow for sustainable living. You might know how to build a fire, or grow food. I am maintaining the tradition of knitting. Yesterday I heard a PhD say that she would help my colleague with his PhD if he promised to help five others. She has already helped twenty. I had a party at my house last winter for people who knit and the people who love them. The man next door learned to knit. Before that, I taught two women I worked with to knit. If you need to learn to knit, let me know.

People all around the world have knit for hundreds of years. Many have come up with the techniques apart from the others, but they all created scarves, hats, and sweaters. I like being connected to that history.

Alpaca socks are seven times warmer than wool.

Have you ever been to a yarn shop? Go a couple of times and try not to knit at least something.

You can make your scarf however long you want to.

You can make your sweater whatever shape you like.

I can knit and be around my family while doing something for myself at the same time. It's kind of sneaky.

I communicate with people all day (which I love), but my yarn doesn't require speech (which I also love). I can turn off that part of my brain.
While I am knitting it is often impossible to worry or think about "To Do Lists".

But one of the best things about knitting is the puzzles it brings. I have ripped out that toe three times now. Each time I have feared I wouldn't be able to get my needles back on the stitches. Somehow I have. Each time I have tried a new way. Tonight I will try another. Some people enjoy crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, or Jeopardy. I like knitting.

Many people look at a piece of knitting, and because it is so common place, they assume that it is easy. Though it isn't always complicated, it often involves math, thinking about spatial concepts backward, and finding new routes through patterns, especially if you aren't always willing to rip back multiple rows to correct mistakes. I am not. Sometimes I take it to the yarn shop and have them rip it back while I look the other way.

Knitting shares this in common with most other good forms of work. Focus, challenge, absorption, mystery, and discovery. Somehow I am hoping that these characteristics also build character.

What good forms of work do you do?