I have been knitting for more than five years now, not a long time amongst those who knit. I picked up this hobby while recovering from Cancer after caring for my mother who also had cancer. She had begun a project for my daughter, which she could not finish in time before she passed. I then became determined to learn to knit, to finish it for her. I didn’t realize at the time, that I was also sick and would soon be on my own Cancer journey. Thankfully, I reached full recovery from my Cancer, and Knitting was a large part of my recovery process.
In 2015, after two surgeries, and the resulting complications, I returned home to a much altered life. But I was grateful for any type of life, if it meant I would have a chance to live some more. I spent more time in bed than anywhere else for a very, very long time. I watched a lot of YouTube videos to teach myself how to knit, still trying to finish my mother’s knitting project. I could never match my mother’s very experienced knitting gauge as a new knitter, but over time, I did become a novice knitter and was soon knitting many things.
Knitting was, during my recovery, a very important form of therapy for me, it kept my mind and hands busy while physically I was still struggling daily just to get through each day. Pain and suffering can make days seem like years, so having something to pass the time and focus on, is a valued distraction. Although, God is the one who extended my life and healed me, and doctors helped bring me to a place of recovery, knitting gave me an added benefit of healing therapy, and pleasure and joy when I hardly had any.
Since the pandemic has taken over so much of our lives, and I’ve so recently lost my daughter this year, I’m enjoying my knitting as therapy again. My daughter was extremely creative, she was a wonderful pastry chef and cake decorating artist. I so enjoyed seeing what she would create that we all could eat. I get a similar joy out of knitting items as gifts to others for special occasions, like a new baby, or wedding. And I’m able to add special sweaters and other elegant knits to my own wardrobe. It has been challenging to knit wearable garments, but I like being able to alter a pattern to fit my own body exactly. That’s a bonus. While shopping for clothing right now is a real challenge for everyone.
No matter what you’re going through in life right now, I hope you also find a hobby or past-time that brings you joy and helps you recover from whatever is ailing you.
The bible has some warnings about being idle. I have found knitting and writing gives me opportunities to reach out to others, to meet other people, to bless them with gifts and share much needed words of encouragement. This hobby has kept me busy, helped me recover physically, and uplifted my dreary emotions. It has helped me stay connected to others during this past year of isolation, and the preceding years.
I began a Purl and Pray ministry at my church, and we look forward weekly to encouraging one another, praying for the needs of many, and sharing our experiences and stories while knitting something for ourselves or someone else. It’s a valuable time together I look forward to more than ever. It has been a very enriching time well spent. I have enjoyed knitting so much, I wish I had learned years ago. This skill has been a treasured gift in the midst of great sorrow.
I hope you will pursue a new hobby, or perhaps return to an old one and take it up again. Find ways to connect with others and to share yourself and your craft together. Fight back against the discouragement of this world, the isolation of this pandemic, and the losses that it has threatened us with.
Find a hobby my friend, and bless someone with it, Susan