Twisted Knitter

I have no new knitting to show; we've been planting, painting, and cleaning. It must be a spring thing. It's also heralded by the annual arrival of ants in my kitchen. I know that if it rains a lot (steadily) and the next day is sunny and warm, a colony will have formed somewhere and they'll begin invading. Oddly, it's also about the same time I start to think about baking cookies. I believe I'll wait until I get rid of the ants* to get out the brown sugar.

I've swatched several things this past week and so far, nothing is as promising as I thought it would be. I decided this was a sign to step away from the knitting (that is, knitting-as-blog-fodder) for a brief pause, so I've been listening to the Yarn Harlot's audiobook version of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting. I highly recommend it. It's entertaining without being too cutesy or cheesy. (And, yes, I know I'm one book behind and she has a new one out now . . . at this pace, I'll probably get to that one next year).

And smack dab in the middle of this blog entry, I want to share Laurie's blog entry today. One thing jumped out at me:

I'd wasted all that energy on one thing that was past and something new that hadn't even happened yet.

I've been there -- I've wasted energy and THOUGHTS on things that were completely unfruitful. And I've wasted precious brainpower having imaginary conversations with people I was angry with at the time. I'm now 100% sure that the other person involved didn't give a second thought to maintaining that same conversation in his or her head. Obsessive thoughts like that are very close to the classic definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I wanted to bring this to my blog because it relates to why I began knitting. About four years ago, I was getting and staying so angry about perceived slights and injustices that totally didn't concern me; often I was angry or incredulous about something that was happening to a friend or family member. One night I left the house in a huff over something I had been reading online and I ended up falling in the garage and requiring a trip to the ER for stitches and a tetanus shot. Less than a month later, a friend of mine mentioned trying knitting and I was tired enough of myself that I decided it was time for a new hobby. Knitting helped me gain some emotional equilibrium and has kept me out of the ER (I learned that I am really accident-prone when I'm angry). And this is why I still knit. These days, if I feel that I'm starting to be competitive (with anybody other than myself) over knitting or anything knitting-related, I step back -- and maybe away -- for a while. Ironically, if I don't step away on my own, then some external force will exert itself -- computer problems much?

If you're stewing, perhaps step away and ask yourself why your expectations are so high or . . . radical thought . . . maybe you should dig even deeper -- why are you a knitter? For me, it's a meaningful and productive way to engage my hands and my mind so that I remain emotionally balanced and stay out of trouble. The huge bonus has been my gaining some great lifelong friendships in the process.

* Products to help eliminate the ants