Growing up alone in New York to very conservative grandparents taught me a lot of things from the right way of living life and the essentials like household chores. And as my grandmother tried to pass onto me the secrets to living a happy life she never failed to mention knitting. For her, this was a life skill and she believes that this was the reason she grew up to be as old as she is now.
But like any teen, I had way too many things to do or pretended to do just so I could skip out on my knitting sessions with my grandma. It is not until she bought me a yarn kit as a present when I finally gave up and started knitting. Looking back at it now, I regret the moments that we could have spent together. She still knits but being caught up with my work and all the hassles of being an adult, now I have legitimate reasons to actually miss out on her lessons.
A Yarn Kit was the Perfect Gift
Growing up without a dad made my grandma to decide to work fulltime to support me and my two sisters. For her, moving back in with us was a no brainer. For a middle aged woman to be called upon to raise three more kids after raising 4 of her own with one of which being my mom, she never really made us feel like a burden and it was not until when we realized how grateful I was for her.
She was the rock of our home and she became the bedrock of the household. Despite a noticeable generation gap between us siblings and our grandmother, there was a desire to bond between us especially from her. The patience and unconditional love that she showed us was gift enough but somehow she still gave us more. The most memorable christmas I have had with my grandma was something special. Gathering by the fire, she gave us sisters gifts that would change our lives, well, at least one of us. She handed us sisters yarn kits and, to put it lightly, we had quite the difference in reactions. My sisters were smitten by the colors but quickly gave up on it while I on the other hand started knitting on my corner right away. Ever since that fateful day, I have been knitting since.
Why I keep my Yarn Kit Around
The main reason why people knit in the first place is to find something to do while they are in one of their vacant spaces of their day. Even if people say how much they would love a desk job that does next to nothing for hours during the day, there is simply no way one could survive such boredom. Here is where knitting comes in. Whenever I feel like I have a few minutes to burn, I take out my yarn kit and knit away. The best thing about knitting is that you can practically do it wherever you go. For someone who travels quite often, waiting for planes to arrive and depart can be as tiresome as manual labor if you had to do it at least once every single week. In these hours, I simply pick up my yarn kit and pass the time innocently in the corner and wait for the next eventful moment of the day.
Of course, there are a few rules that you have to live by if you so choose to become a serial public knitter. The first one is to always be wary of the time. While it has not happened to me yet, missing flights due to getting lost on the knitting. In time, I learned a few tricks or two like setting an alarm or just tapping someone to come and take me when I have to go. Another thing you should keep in mind is the surrounding that you are in. Most of the time, being too focused on knitting can lead you to ignore some very dangerous signs. Like for example, there may be some pickpockets on the subways which is a shame because the subway is one of my favorite spots to knit.
Knit with Your Yarn Kit to Your Heart’s Content
I have a theory why girls are more likely to take up knitting more than men. And no, it does not have anything to do about knitting as a bit too girly for our brawny men. Knitting is the epitome of multitasking. Whenever I knit, I rarely do so exclusively. Most of the time while I am at home, I would turn on the television and while I watch the news, I would start my knit train.
Some studies even show that people who have a tactile proclivity might benefit from keeping their hands busy. Somehow, this takes care of their itch and lets them focus on things they wish to focus on. This is not usually the case for everyone obviously as will be stated below.
Yarn Kit Meditation
The most common reason why people knit or do hobbies of the sort is because it gives people a mindful meditation. The human mind, despite all the evolutionary wonders, is still stifled by the amount of stimuli that the world brings upon it. Especially nowadays when the pace is so much faster, the mind sometimes suffer a sensory overload. Knitting is an excellent way to meditate for people who cannot bear the boredom of actual meditation.
Personally, knitting is something that I try to do whenever I try to center myself. The whole business environment really prevents anyone from having things simplified for us. The only way we can digest all the information and act upon it the best way we can is if we allow ourselves to take steps back and look at the situation from afar. This is the freedom that knitting allows for me.
