Randoms of the knitting variety today <3

Decided to actually do Wednesday Randoms on Wednesday this week. It is a goal that I don’t always hit but, today, here we are. 

A few randoms I have gleaned from knitting…and I think we can apply a lot of them to life. I will let you make those leaps on your own…I certainly am feeling them deeply.

Random #1

I have learned that we learn best from undoing our mistakes. 

Painfully removing stitches, row by row, we have time to reflect on what got us there and by the time we have reached the problem and fixed it and begun the arduous task of re-knitting all that crumpled yarn back on the needles, we remember to not do what we did before. 

Hopefully. 

Random #2

Not all mistakes require the above process. 

Some mistakes involve the incredibly scary moment where you unravel just one straight line down into your knitted project. 

Then you carefully use a crochet hook (irony) to knit it back up to the needles and voila…

Mistake corrected. 

Oh sure, you may have to undo it a couple of times because you put a purl where a knit should be or didn’t catch the right strand of yarn, but this is a far more pleasant fix than Random 1. 

It all depends on the mistake, of course and the best mode of making things right. 

Random #3

Some mistakes don’t get caught until too deeply into the project. 

This is where you have to assess the situation and decide if you are just going to embrace the mistake and figure only you will notice (until you point it out to everyone who asks if you made that and says how nice it looks…and believe me…you will point out the flaw) OR you put it all away in a bag and never return to it.

Ever.

Random #4

Knitting, in spite of all the mistake fixing, is truly therapeutic if you are a person who is prone to anxious thoughts or someone who tends to get too deeply involved in a movie plot or the news or conversations going on around you at a ball game. 

Not that I would know what that is like, of course. 

I am just reporting what studies have shown. 

It is calming to the mind and there is something about having to keep track of knits, purls, color changes and the like that keeps the wandering mind grounded in the present and this is good for people like…well.. okay, it is me.

Random #5

Knitting builds community. 

It a special blessing to gather with other knitters and knit and share patterns and have them bail you out when you are in Random #1, Random #2 or Random #3 messes and show you how to fix something or even better, just take it out of your novice hands and fix it themselves. 

They share new pattern ideas and no end to the notions and gadgetry you can add to your stash. Seeing what others are working on and the big day when they finish the project and we all celebrate is grand. And the wealth of knowledge and fellowship is so special.

There are all manner of conversations that buzz around the circle as well and I have learned a lot about what books and series are good or a waste of time, how to use technology better, gardening and home repair tips and sharing vicariously in the various trips and adventures others have taken. 

But knitting also opens the door to meeting and engaging with total strangers. 

I have found that there is nothing controversial about knitting. In airports, waiting in an office or for a child’s practice to come to an end, at the coffee shop…anywhere in public where you have your knitting out, people can’t resist starting up a conversation. And it is always positive in nature.

They will ask if that is knitting or crochet, tell me they knit…or crochet, report on family members that knitted and/or crocheted. They ask what I am making and usually have something nice to say about it. 

This applies to men and women and the men are the funniest because they are the ones who had a mom or grandma who knitted and I get to hear all about it. They also act as if I were attempting brain surgery and it is probably the most respect I ever get from people I have never met before. 

So what prompted the randoms today, you might ask?

I am currently taking a break from removing four rows of knitted perfection to get back to a flaw I noticed last night as we were driving to watch soccer. 

Sigh.

Bet I don’t make that mistake again…