Two of my most abiding passions, my most favourite things to do in the world are knitting and writing - although obviously not at the same time.
I am the queen of multitasking and I can knit while reading, while walking (a little) and in near darkness in a cinema, but even am I unable to juggle the act of knitting and writing at the same time. Although often when I’m knitting I am composing little pieces of writing in my head. Snippets of sentences and conversations with myself that spill out into my journal later on.
But I was musing the other day about how writing serves me, continues to work for me and has given me years (decades) of faithful service.
Writing helps me to stay focused on what matters. It’s how I cut through the noise and confusing jumble of thoughts in my head. It’s how I make sense of my days and weeks and give form to that which otherwise would stay hopelessly tangled (a little knitting analogy there).
Unravelling my thoughts onto paper forces me to slow down. Words can only form at the pace at which I can write them - no matter how furiously I scribble. My brain is capable of racing along at a million miles an hour - heaven knows how many thoughts per minute that equates to, but my hands aren’t.
When writing my thoughts have to slow to match the speed of my hands, and in doing so I am able to give my full attention to them.
When knitting, the same calming process happens. My racing thoughts slow down, order is restored as slowly and methodically as the stitches are formed. It’s a phenomenon that most knitters would definitely recognise and agree with.
Interestingly my writing and my knitting tend to go in phases. When I’m really engrossed in a knitting project I don’t feel the urge to write as much. When my current WIPs aren’t really appealing to me I often sit down to write instead.
As long as I’m making order out of chaos - whether that’s jumbled thoughts or tangled yarn it seems my brain is in it’s happy place.
As the Everyday Knitter community is well into it’s second year, here on Substack I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. To each and every one of you who take the time to open and read these messages. To share, like and comment on them - it really does mean the world to me and it’s not something I take for granted.
And for those members of my paid community here I am truly astonished at how many of you have been here since the beginning. Joining in with our book clubs and chats, and generally making Substack my favourite place to hang out on the internet.
In order to say thank you I have added a free knitting pattern below the paywall here - for my Simple Pleasures shawl. It’s a new release for a simple, stocking stitch shawl ideal for beginners and more experienced knitters alike. You’ll just need to scroll down and tap the download button for the magic to work.
If you aren’t (yet) a paid member but are curious, you can unlock this post as part of your free 7-day trial with no commitment to stay after that point, although I would obviously love it if you did.