Circle of One

Here are some comments on knitting from my book, Down Home Musings. This is the still-not-finished afghan I mention.

Today is cool…a faux Fall day. There’s a nice breeze here on the porch, and I am sittin’ and knittin’ and enjoying the peaceful morning. When I stay still I have some avian visitors. Louie and Winkie are the pair of cardinals that make their home here, and they come to the feeder several times a day. Knitting is a quiet activity and does not seem to disturb them. In the spring, I leave scraps of colorful yarn out for them to put in their nest. (That little spot of day-glo orange helps me locate the nest among the branches.)

You might think that knitting is an “old lady” thing to do. I am an old lady…but actually I have been knitting since I was a small child. My Aunt Clara used to come from her home in Chicago to visit us each summer and she always had her knitting with her. She gave me my first pair of needles and started me on a craft that has provided me hours of pleasure.

I love the feeling of soft yarn sliding through my fingers, the joy of watching the stitches come off the needle and become a garment, the sense of accomplishment when I am finished. The rhythm of knitting soothes my soul and settles me down when I am over-whelmed by life and its responsibilities. There is always a project in the basket beside my chair and I can pick it up and knit for a few minutes or an hour or an afternoon. It’s portable and goes with me when I travel (although I can no longer take the needles on the airplane).

I do other fiber work as well. Crocheting, needlepoint, weaving. But knitting remains my stalwart best friend. It has brought me hours of entertainment and satisfaction, and I hope the things I have made have been useful to those who received them. I tried to organize a group here in town to meet at the library and knit shawls for cancer patients or blankets for the homeless. No one was interested. “Too busy.” “Too hot.” “Better things to do.” “Don’t know how.” “Not in a rocking chair yet!”

So I am my own “circle of one” here on my porch. I feel a sense of communion with other women elsewhere who enjoy this craft, and I am grateful for the happiness it provides me. I sent a shawl to my friend in Maine who has terminal cancer. She says it gives her comfort and she thinks of me when she wraps herself in it. Today I am working on a multi-colored striped afghan to use up some scrap yarn I found when I cleaned out my storeroom. It will be a bright spot next winter and remind of these days on the porch. Maybe help me find my own nest.