The following is from an email I received from a LYS (local yarn shop). I just like how they describe why we knit, or at least why I knit.
…why do you knit? Do you ever wonder what makes you knit?
Today the sun is shining – or at least it is shining at the moment, and the minute I see it, my fingers itch towards my needles. Why? Because my heart is happy and I want to knit. But, isn’t it also true that when we are the most tired, the most stressed, the most…well, the most anything, we feel compelled to knit? Why is that?
We think that it is because knitting is good for the soul.
...knitting is so much more than just needles and yarn. It is so much more than the simple act of moving stitches from one needle to the next. It’s even more than the amazing and satisfying thrill that you get each time you take a long piece of yarn and loop it and bend it and twist it until a sweater leaps off your needles.
Something happens along the way. Along the way our skills and confidence grow. Along the way we meet new friends. Along the way we learn new things. Along the way our hearts grow together – in very much the same way that our stitches knit together. Even if we knit by ourselves in the quiet and solitude of our homes – we are part of all the knitters that have come before us and all of the knitters that knit today. It doesn’t matter if we knit in groups or by ourselves, we all belong to a community of knitters!
Knitters will never be strangers with each other. It’s not possible. Because we share the same heart. And we know that the most important thing in the heart of a knitter isn’t the knowledge – it isn’t the techniques – it isn’t the skill – it isn’t the biggest stash – it’s one simple thing. Love. And, perhaps that’s the answer to our question. We knit because we love. Period. We love to knit. We love others. We love yarn. We love learning new things. We love the bonds we form through knitting. We love the laughter. We can even love our mistakes. (Someday we may even learn to love gauge…although we can already hear some of you saying that that’s pushing it!)
So then, with so much of this love in our hearts – doesn’t it just make sense that our finished objects reflect that love? Which is probably one of the biggest reasons why we knit for other people, isn’t it?
We knit for our family and friends because it makes our hearts happy to know that they will be wrapped in the stitches that we created just for them. It makes us smile to know that their hands will be warmed with our knitted mittens. Why else in the world would we knit socks for someone with really, really large feet? Because of the little glow we get when they wear them – for the way their faces light up when they receive our knitted gifts. They know, don’t they? They know that they’re wearing more than just a pair of socks. They know that they are wearing a tangible expression of our love for them. (From Handweavers Inspriring Yarn Shop, Kalamazoo, MI)
…why do you knit? Do you ever wonder what makes you knit?
Today the sun is shining – or at least it is shining at the moment, and the minute I see it, my fingers itch towards my needles. Why? Because my heart is happy and I want to knit. But, isn’t it also true that when we are the most tired, the most stressed, the most…well, the most anything, we feel compelled to knit? Why is that?
We think that it is because knitting is good for the soul.
...knitting is so much more than just needles and yarn. It is so much more than the simple act of moving stitches from one needle to the next. It’s even more than the amazing and satisfying thrill that you get each time you take a long piece of yarn and loop it and bend it and twist it until a sweater leaps off your needles.
Something happens along the way. Along the way our skills and confidence grow. Along the way we meet new friends. Along the way we learn new things. Along the way our hearts grow together – in very much the same way that our stitches knit together. Even if we knit by ourselves in the quiet and solitude of our homes – we are part of all the knitters that have come before us and all of the knitters that knit today. It doesn’t matter if we knit in groups or by ourselves, we all belong to a community of knitters!
Knitters will never be strangers with each other. It’s not possible. Because we share the same heart. And we know that the most important thing in the heart of a knitter isn’t the knowledge – it isn’t the techniques – it isn’t the skill – it isn’t the biggest stash – it’s one simple thing. Love. And, perhaps that’s the answer to our question. We knit because we love. Period. We love to knit. We love others. We love yarn. We love learning new things. We love the bonds we form through knitting. We love the laughter. We can even love our mistakes. (Someday we may even learn to love gauge…although we can already hear some of you saying that that’s pushing it!)
So then, with so much of this love in our hearts – doesn’t it just make sense that our finished objects reflect that love? Which is probably one of the biggest reasons why we knit for other people, isn’t it?
We knit for our family and friends because it makes our hearts happy to know that they will be wrapped in the stitches that we created just for them. It makes us smile to know that their hands will be warmed with our knitted mittens. Why else in the world would we knit socks for someone with really, really large feet? Because of the little glow we get when they wear them – for the way their faces light up when they receive our knitted gifts. They know, don’t they? They know that they’re wearing more than just a pair of socks. They know that they are wearing a tangible expression of our love for them. (From Handweavers Inspriring Yarn Shop, Kalamazoo, MI)
If you are in the Kalamazoo area, Handweavers is offering some upcoming opportunities to knit for others. Check out their website for more info: http://www.handweavers.biz/.
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