Mindful Knitting

While I was sitting in a coffee shop yesterday, alone, and working on the baby blanket that I'm knitting for a friend...I thought about the idea that our emotions and thoughts might be passed into the knitting and passed on to the recipient. What do you think?

Usually when working on this project, I'm chatting with friends at work, or watching TV, but every once in a while I think about the baby girl that will be (hopefully) wrapped in this blanket, and I wish good things for her and her mama and their future together.

My emotions at the coffee place yesterday were not so peaceful. They were...let's say turbulent. I was a half hour into being stood up by some friends that said they would meet me there, and I was alone in a busy shop. I was kind of seething about it, as it was a meeting for the book club I've been requested to run...and the last few meetings have been less than populated. I was ready to cancel book club. I stopped and reflected on the fact that I'd just knit three angry rows into the blanket, and wondered if that vibe could be passed on. I know it might be crazy, but I then resolved to not think about the issue anymore, at least not while I was knitting the blanket.

There is a book called Mindful Knitting by Tara Jon Manning which "aims to help knitters become more meditative in their knitting practice by making them mindful of forming each stitch and passing positive emotions into the work as they knit."



I don't need to read this book to know that knitting can be a form of meditation, but I will definitely try to be more mindful in my knitting...just in case!