I love to knit. Not discounting the occasional cuss word when perfect is not achieved, I have to say I find it relaxing and knitting brings me peace.
That said, there was “The Sweater”.
I had picked out a sweet cabled cardigan for my then four year old granddaughter. Ashley has soft brown hair and a pixie look about her. When I looked at that pattern, I pictured her romping through fields of wild flowers with a gentle breeze blowing through her tumbling locks….get the picture?
I picked a steel blue yarn and settled into my rocker for a decent session of knitting. Armed with a cup of tea, I cast on the back of “The Sweater”. I will not go into the detail of the trials and tribulations of completing a sweater I know originated in the depths of hell. When I was too far into the project to even consider frogging it, I had faced typos, pattern errors and instructions that skipped entire sections of needed directions.
I tensed every time I even looked at the knitting bag that held that sweater. I found any excuse to start and knit to completion many other projects while “The Sweater” lay in wait. Christmas loomed. I NEEDED to get on with Ashley’s sweater. At this point all my other grandchildren had a finished sweater.
One morning as I was complaining to my daughter, Lori, about my ordeal, she chastised me for knitting bad thoughts and vibes into her niece’s gift.
That conversation got me to thinking. Knitting a gift for someone we love is as close to hugging them as we can get without actually enveloping them in our arms. Generally, as I knit on something for someone I love, I am filled with warmth and feelings of joy. I think that’s why we get so passionate about knitting. We are literally sharing a piece of ourselves with the recipient.
After that chat with Lori I decided to change my attitude about Ashley’s sweater. As I knit on it, I thought about how beautifully the pieces were fitting together, I patted myself on the back for overcoming a very poorly written pattern and creating a lovely sweater.
When I wrapped that sweater in tissue I actually caressed it before putting the box cover on. I loved that sweater.
I will never knit harsh thoughts into another gift for a cherished loved one. I will, good naturedly, approach each difficult step with positive thoughts and I will frog the sucker immediately if I feel one iota of negativity flowing from my fingers to that yarn!
Holly Burnham is a self admitted yarn addict. The addiction will be life long and there is no hope of remission. Her constant knitting has put the cleanliness of her home in peril. Her yarn stashes are havens for generations of moths. At the risk of contracting this affliction, visit her at http://www.knittinghaven.com.
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