Knitting, Writing and the Atonement....

 As a knitter, there have been many times when I have had to rip out my work: sometimes a few stitches-sometimes many rows or even the entire project because of mistakes made while knitting.  A stitch may have been made in the wrong place, or my count may have been off, perhaps even by only a stitch or two.  However several rows later when increases or decreases have been made, this can make a huge difference so I rip the work out...I call it frogging it..and begin again.

While in school, I took a writing class to help me write better papers.  This became more important the farther I went in collage.  This process began with research and usually a thesis statement, then a rough draft...or a first writing.  After the rough draft, I would usually let the paper sort of sit a day or two, and for lack of a better word, marinate in my brain a bit.  Then came the revisions.  Sometimes I would only revise my papers once and feel that all was well and it was ready to be turned in.  Other times I would agonize over the paper, looking for more quotes and doing more research before the final rewrite.  In both instances I received good grades for my writing and I was pleased. 

I was reading my scriptures, pondering the topic of the atonement when the thought came to me that like my knitting and writing, our Savior gives us a chance to revise or rip out our mistakes through repentance.  He blesses our lives by being there...right beside us, directing our paths.  There is no pain that he does not understand.  No illness that he cannot comprehend.  He has been there.  He knows!  Because He knows, and because He has paid the price, we can return to our Heavenly Father and live again.  But the atonement isn't just for the future.  It is for right now.  It is for everyday.  I know that my Savior lives.  He lifts me up with I am down.  He walks beside me and helps me through my everyday, ordinary things and blesses me with miracles each and every day. 

This is your brain......on knitting!

It is no surprise that I love knitting.  It has been a the driving force that has kept me sane for most of my life.  However recently I was quite surprised to find out just how therapeutic it is for both mind and body.  In an article, "The Truth About Knitting" put together by the Craft Yarn Council, the results of many studies have shown just how good knitting can be.

Common wisdom has it that brain  and word games like crossword puzzles and math games like sudoku may help keep the brain sharp over time. But what about two sharp sticks and some yarn?

Yonas Geda, associate professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, published a study in the Spring 2011 edition of The Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences that validated crafters of all stripes. His research showed that people who engaged their minds by reading books, playing games or crafting had a decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment, a possible precursor to Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.

“The study suggests that engaging in certain types of mentally stimulating acts,” Geda says, “is associated with decreased risk of cognitive impairment.”

Their study looked at 1,321 adults, ages 70 to 89, 197 of whom had been identified as already having mild cognitive impairment. Both the normal and cognitively impaired groups were surveyed about their activities within the last year.

The study demonstrated that using the brain might prevent losing it. The data showed that computer use, playing games, crafting, reading books and watching less TV resulted in a striking 30 to 50 percent decrease in the odds of having mild cognitive impairment.

Though the study didn't examine exactly how these activities might protect the brain, it did reference other works suggesting that mentally active people overall might live healthier lifestyles, maybe exercising and eating better, or that cognitive activity might promote the development of new neuro pathways—or cognitive reserves. In other words, staying mentally active through knitting and reading, etc. makes “deposits” to an individual’s brain “bank”; this can possibly buffer against Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.

“Some people are normal when they die but show a neuropathological burden during autopsy,” Geda says. “They have cognitive reserves. One of the theories is that engaging in mental activities stimulates the development of these cognitive reserves.”

Another study was done looking at burnout and stress, using nurses this time.  In 2010, two Georgetown oncology nurses—stressed out by their jobs and graduate school—decided to use Project Knitwell for their thesis research. Personally aware of the incredible strain and loss oncology nurses experience, Lyndsay Anderson and Christina Urso wondered whether knitting might mitigate some of the burnout—or “compassion fatigue”—these nurses experienced. The grad students administered a survey to the nurses that measured burnout at two junctures: before learning to knit and 13 weeks later, after they had learned and been working with Project Knitwell volunteers.

 “Anecdotally we knew everyone on the unit was suffering,” Anderson says. “Nobody was doing fine.” Indeed all 39 nurses who participated showed some degree of compassion fatigue in the “before” test.

Each nurse was taught to cast-on and knit. In addition, Project Knitwell volunteers appeared regularly on the oncology units to fix mistakes and assist them in choosing new projects should they want to progress. Knit kits were also stashed on the oncology floors, so nurses could knit spontaneously.

The results were significant. Everyone’s burnout scores improved, especially the nurses who were the most burned out prior to the study. In answers to open-ended questions, nurses extolled the soothing rhythm of knitting and distraction from work-related fatigue. Though the sample was small, it was enough to convince hospital administrators to add Project Knitwell to its staff enrichment programs as well as provide sessions to graduating nurses.

“Oncology nurses really have nothing tangible to show for their work, because at the end of the day, their patients are still suffering,” explains Anderson, who’s now a family nurse practitioner in the hospital’s Ourisman Breast Health Center. “But if you have something artistic to work on, it does give you some sense of accomplishment.”

So basically knitting improves your brain....or you could knit a brain???

Seriously though, currently I am reading a book "Knit for Health & Wellness: How to Knit a flexible mind & more."  I am amazed at the work and study that has gone into just how knitting affects the brain.  The positive affects are staggering, and not just knitting, but crocheting as well.  One of my fears as I get older is to not have a sharp mind, to loose my memories, or not recognizing my loved ones.  Who knew that with every stitch I took, I was well on my way towards the very much desired goal of keeping my mind sharp as I age.  So knit one and purl 2...or use the equation below...

The link is a 12 minute video on the health benefits of crocheting and knitting...take a look!

Changing Global Health One Stitch At A Time

Dear Knitting....

Dear Knitting,

Many people who see me ask what is on my needles.  Most of the year I can answer this question without blinking.  It is at this time...the last quarter of the year that I give my standard answer "a birdcage cover."  When I give this answer this is what most people think of.....

OK people, this is not what I mean.  Since I knit most of my Christmas gifts right in front of the people they are meant for, and since I have quite brilliant children who know this, I had to come up with a code.  So for everyone who is frustrated with my answer it is a birdcage cover, know that it is code for this.....

and you just might be the person I am knitting for.  

Happily Knitting,

Loose Ends....

I finished my mystery project last night.  Who knew it would be a winter like hat for people who like to put their hair up or wear a "hat" and not mess up their hair.  The pattern name is "Quant".  I have no idea why it is called that, but there you have it.  Mandy modeled this really fun mystery for me.

In addition to knitting the mystery knit project, I also knit a pattern called "The Monster Dice Bag Of Doom" for Matt to keep his dice in.  He promptly named it the Cthulu Bag--Cathulu is the name of a mythological deep sea kracken.  He is very happy with it, and I must admit I really had tons of fun knitting all the tentacles and putting the eyes in weird places.  This was a very fun project!!

Most of all I didn't get behind with the massive amount of homework that I had.  If I haven't said it before, online classes are far more difficult than face-to-face classes.  Unfortunately this semester, the classed I needed to take are not offered any other way.  However, all in all, I have to say that it was a really good week.

A New Semester and a Little Pumpkin

School started today.  I am very excited with my classes this semester, that is I am excited with their content.  I am not so excited that all but one is an online class.  I really love learning in the class setting.  However this is how these classes are offered, and I will do well in them, just as I have all my other classes.  I really love school!  I figure I will graduate in May of 2014.  It is amazing just how fast this has gone by.  The fact is, I really feel empowered by all the goals that I have accomplished.  I know that I can do hard things! 

Knitting is another area where I am very proud of what I have accomplished.  I have set several goals and am reaching them...project by project.  Plus the yarn just plain feels good running through my fingers.

Just finished today...for some future little pumpkin.  It was tons of fun to create a pumpkin hat using left-overs from Bill's Christmas waffle hat.  Also an update on the mystery knitting project....any ideas?

I was very inspired by this mystery knit and so am trying something different in dishcloths while waiting for a new clue.

I am not sure if I like it yet or if it will find the frog pond.

The Knit Goes On....

Over the years, when I am going through a tough time, I think of my grandmother.  She had a way of making troubles seem not so big.  You could tell her about yours, and she would be sitting in her chair, with her feet up, knitting along.  I used to think "wow, nothing seems to phase her."  Now, with older eyes, I think I get it.  Elizabeth Zimmerman put it best in her statement, “Knit on, through all crises, with confidence and hope.”

I think that is what I have been doing this summer.  We have faced some of our worst trials this summer.  Many of them are still ongoing and quite frankly I am not sure when things will get better.  Through it all I find myself knitting and praying.  It seems that the greater the crisis, the faster I knit, the more fervant the prayer.  I can do this because some really wonderful people have given me large quantities of yarn over the years.  This yarn came from relatives who had passed on, friends who were cleaning out their stash and didn't want some particular yarn, or as a gift because they saw a skein of yarn and thought of me.  If I didn't have this yarn, I would not be able to knit as the cost of buying yarn is beyond me at this time.  I am extremely grateful to all who had contributed to my stash over the years. 

Now, what have I been knitting?

 Pocket book slippers

Assorted Baby Hats

 Assorted Dish Towels and Dish cloths in multiplicity.

A Book Cover



There are a couple of other projects that I haven't taken pictures of yet, and a few that I won't post here as they are "birdcage covers".  I currently have 4 projects on the needles right now, including a prototype of an idea I found.  It is a 1020's doily pattern called Hemlock Ring, that I am knitting with scrap worsted yarn with big needles.  If this works, I think it would make a very pretty baby afghan.  I knit because I love to knit.  However I believe that this summer, I am stress knitting, turning this crisis into beautiful projects that would make wonderful gifts.  I am knitting with hope and praying with faith.



A Visit To Yarnia

Yesterday I was searching for the perfect yarn for a new scarf I am making.  Since most of my yarn is kept in the attic, I asked Matt to bring it to me.  And he brought bin after bin after bin.  Eight bins later I found what I thought was the perfect yarn, and in the process realized that we shouldn't have had to look in so many bins for my yarn.  I knew what type of yarn I wanted, the weight and fiber content.  I just didn't know which yarn bin it was in.  Something had to be done.
So in an effort to organize the massive amounts of yarn that I have aquired over the years (some of bought, but even more that has been given to me) I decided that the children and I would make that our project for this morning.  What fun we had.  Jessica and I began to sort the yarn by fiber content and weight (fingering, lace, sock, sport, worsted, etc). . .

And we sorted......



And sorted some more.....



Josh and Daniel not know yarn weights or fiber content, so they were the ball winders--fixing any skeins that were a mess into nice yarn cakes that feed from the middle. 

And they kept winding.....

Then as we were working along, Jessica found this one yarn that was VERY different from the others....

We all agreed that it looked like mold, and as there was so little of it (only 2 yards) and who knows where it came from--we were very happy to throw it away.

After 2 1/2 hours and much sorting I was shocked as to the vast array of yarn I had. 

And the ball winding boys?????

Well they were all tuckered out and will have to continue another day. 

Special thanks to Matt, who took all the pictures, labeled all the bins and hauled the yarn everywhere!

And that is our trip to Yarnia! Yarn therapy at its finest!

Dear Knitting

Yesterday the thought hit me that I had better knit some dishcloths.  For the past 29 years, my mother-in-law Ethel has knitted all the dishcloths anybody could want.  She was constantly knitting them in all rainbow colors, wherever she went.  Sometimes she sold them, however most often she gave them as gifts. 

When she passed away, I took all of the remaining dishcloths and divided them among my boys.  She had given the girls some special ones just a couple of years ago, so I felt the boys should have some of her work as well. That left me with zero dishcloths on hand, and well the blessed things wear out.  I don't know what I was thinking, like perhaps a cloud would settle over my house and drop finished dishcloths fresh from heaven?? 

I had better get knitting before anymore wear out.....I do miss knitting with her.  I don't have anybody really to knit with anymore.  I am greatful for all the things she blessed my family with over the years.  My home is filled with quilted and knitted things that gave warmth and joy to our family.  But now I knit alone......

Yarn Bombing--Graffiti or Art?

What is art? What is graffiti? Webster’s Dictionary defines graffiti as “markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted, or sketched on a sidewalk, wall of a building or public restroom, or the like”. Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/law enforcement and writers around the world, who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations.

Graffiti is a rapidly developing art form whose value is highly contested, even reviled by many authorities while at the same time being subject to protection, sometimes this happening within the same jurisdiction. In many locations, city officials/law enforcement has seen a decline in what was escalating graffiti as they have created “legal” graffiti walls for the work to be displayed. It is still a crime if you are caught putting it up on the walls, however it will not be painted over by the city if nobody sees it done. Other cities continue to wage the war on these public displays, completely rejecting the idea that graffiti may be art that could be appreciated.

Another type of graffiti that began in 2005 is quickly becoming recognized as art. Known by several names—yarn bombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. An act of artistic vandalism yarn bombing, adapting a term for plastering an area with graffiti tags has become the goal of many knitting groups worldwide. While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary,

advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing was initially almost exclusively about reclaiming and personalizing sterile or cold public places, it has since developed, with groups known as fiber artists creating graffiti knitting and crocheting worldwide, each with their own agendas and public graffiti knitting projects. Some cities consider yarn bombing to be vandalism, while others coordinate a citywide art festival with the knitters and celebrate art. What was once a random act of guerrilla knitting is now coordinated on a single day to plaster the world with yarn. So I say to you, “Happy International Yarn Bombing Day!”

 As a knitter, I know just how much time, effort, and money that is put into projects such of these—however to what purpose? Therefore, I took some time to email many of the groups who openly organize to participate in yarn bombing. My question—what happens to the knitting you put out in the public? Some answered that it frayed and then just blew away, others that the city cleaned it up and sent it on to the dump. So why put all that time into a project that would end up in the dump?

Finally I got an answer from a group in London called Knit the City. They have a theme to what they knit—a story line if you will. Their projects are all knit in pieces that are scarves, blankets of all sizes and knitted animals. Their knitting have paper tags attached that say “Take me home” and the public is encouraged to “steal” the knitting during the week it is allowed to stay up. I later found that this method was practiced in many of the foreign countries where yarn bombing is practiced; however, I could not find a group in America who follows this method.

So why the waste? The knitted graffiti could still be art and yet useful too. We have so many people who could benefit from having something warm to wrap around themselves. Is yarn bombing graffiti or art? As art is in the eye of the beholder, I leave that up to you. However, that being said, could you at least make it useful to those in need?