For this blog I wanted to go into a little psychology on how different situations affect the brain, and what that means for your knitting.
I found lots of information on line from different sources; below is the website that I took the information from:
You’ve probably heard the term “baby brain” to describe the mind-numbing fog that sets in when you bring a new baby home and you’re overwhelmed and under-slept. You may have also heard of “chemo brain,” where people who are going through cancer treatment have trouble concentrating as a reaction to the medications swirling through their bodies. The concept of “grief brain” is less discussed, but equally real.
While many people associate grief with a loss or death, that’s not always the case. People can also grieve when adjusting to any sort of new normal.
Which is what we are doing right now with the almost hourly updates on the virus and all the social distancing to help the fight against it.
We knitters or any “fibre enthusiasts” are a very social bunch. We like getting together anywhere and knit, crochet or stitch together.
Now that all of the classes have been cancelled or postponed what do we do with all our extra time on our hands?
I don’t know about you, but I seem to have trouble concentrating on anything for a long period of time.
I keep hopping form project to project like a bee from flower to flower and can’t settle down and I found out why:
In fact, several regions of the brain play a role in emotion, including areas within the limbic system and pre-frontal cortex. These involve emotional regulation, memory, multi-tasking, organization and learning. When you’re grieving, a flood of neurochemicals and hormones dance around in your head. “There can be a disruption in hormones that results in specific symptoms, such as disturbed sleep, loss of appetite, fatigue and anxiety,” says Dr. Phillips.
When those symptoms converge, your brain function takes a hit. After all, if you’re overwhelmed with grief, it stands to reason that you won’t absorb your environment the same way you would when you are content.
So I find myself in front of the TV with a Disney movie and plain Garter or Stocking stitch on my needles because the hands want to move but the brain doesn’t want to cooperate.
I mean, to a lot of us, knitting is therapy, right?
This brings me to this week's UFO: #12 Prisma Loop,
a free pattern on Ravelry almost entirely knit in Garter stitch which I started in 2015 when the whole year seemed like an emotional rollercoaster ride.
I used Zauberball Sock yarn for the variegated and Cascade Heritage Fingering for the solid.
Now seemed like a good time to finish it and watch a whole bunch of happy movies.
I have worked on other projects this past month; one of them a “just because” sweater, not one of my UFO’s or upcoming class samples but just because sometimes I fall off the wagon and “goof off” and knit something just because I want to.
It is called Spring is in the Air by Jutta von Hinterm Stein
Another fantastic pattern knit seamlessly from the top down (my favourite construction method) with these lovely flowers created by wrapping a few stitches together.
I had to dive deep into my stash for this yarn: Kelly (light) and Kim (dark) by Filtes King (there’s a blast form the past); a cotton blend with a nice drape. I knitted the sweater body a little longer and the sleeves a little shorter and added a rolled hem after the rib. It’s a fun garment to knit and very comfy to wear and the pattern instructions are impeccable!! Again, lots of stocking stitch after the yoke.
Here is a close-up of the Flowers.
I also finished another Ranunculus, this time in linen and a bright colour.
I enjoyed wearing my dark teal Ranunculus that I knit for the fall so much I wanted to make another one with short sleeves and in this lovely corally-pink Lina by Fibra Natura. It is Spring after all! It’s another seamless top down sweater; do you see a pattern here?
Again I knit the body longer (because I don’t do crop tops any more) and lots of stocking stitch after the lace yoke for those silly movies. Ranunculus is also part of the Spring classes line up, or whenever we’re allowed to get back together again.
And just for something different I finally started using my Fleece Artist Merino Slim in the Canada 150 colours on Jagged Stripes, a garter stitch blanket with zig-zags over half of the width for some added interest.
Lots of plain knitting!!! And another spring / summer class project.
From left to right: Ontario, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Newfoundland in fingering weight doubled up with some DK solid thrown in.
The pattern was a KAL on Ravelry in 2018 where you were supposed to knit different colours according to the temperature of the day.
It’s a fun way to showcase the variegated colours of the different provinces and territories.
So, keep knitting for therapy, for charity, for fun, to take your mind off the real world or just because!
Happy and productive knitting in April!
Until next time, enjoy this lovely spring weather….
Gabriela