Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Knitting as self-care

Last night was my monthly support group meeting for the Very Very Stressed (easiest explanation) and because I have to take a road test soon for my driver's license I decided to drive the 8 blocks and practise street parking and driving home again in the dark. I think it was when I realized - well before I left home, thankfully - I had forgotten how to turn on the headlights on my car that I started to get Very Very Stressed.

The driving went completely without incident except that I decided first to street park 3 blocks away, and then thought I could do better and went for 2 blocks away, and then kicked myself when there was a perfectly good spot 1 block away, but by then I was already late from hunting up the headlights so it was just as well I didn't go back to grab the closer spot.

Knitting saves lives: I was actually shaking when I slumped into my chair and pulled out the Blueys to knit a few stitches. The lady next to me asked about my knitting and I said it's calming and she said she's been knitting a scarf but doesn't know how to cast off so she can't finish it.

Naturally, I showed her immediately how to knit two stitches, then pick up the first one and pull it over the second - except I couldn't, because I'm knitting at such a tight gauge and the Bluey yarn, being less elastic than the average wool, wasn't having any.

Stress! and then I realized I can always Kitchener Stitch the toe. And then we discussed my giving a knitting workshop for the group in a future meeting.

Oh Blueys, I love you so. Now if I could just figure out a way to knit them at stop lights during my driving test, I would hardly be stressed at all.

6 comments:

Mary said...

LOL Good luck with the driving!! I too would be much more at peace if I could knit whenever I wanted to!!

Anonymous said...

Oh I bet that yarn would relax if you would, bwahahahaha...

heklica said...

Hope you pass your driving test! Can you drive even if you haven't passed your driving test? I mean, legally?

Kathleen Taylor said...

Knitting saved my sanity when I needed it the most too. The rhythm of the needles has its o

Mary Keenan said...

Misha - I'm basically driving on the second stage of a graduated learner's license - before I passed the first road test, I could drive but only with another licensed driver beside me. Now I can drive pretty much without any restrictions, but I have to pass a second (longer, scarier) road test before the end of the 5 years since I started the process. Which was frighteningly close to 5 years ago now. Apparently I can fail the second test tons of times before the 5 years are up and still drive legally, though I expect I'll find it hard to muster up enough confidence to do so if that happens every day for two weeks or something. (surely it won't??)

Karen said...

Aw, don't worry -- the G2 is not nearly as terrible as all that. In fact, I did mine in a windstorm, with the car being buffeted and rocking like a boat, and even I found it officially Not Bad.

But yeah. Knitting at stoplights should actually be encouraged.