by Amber Weier

Created on: July 20, 2010

There are so many reasons that you should learn to knit. My hope is that after reading this you will run out and begin the quest. I learned to knit 17 years ago and never looked back. It has proved to be one of my most treasured skills. I have used knitting to cope in times of stress, to improve concentration and to cure boredom in waiting rooms and on long flights, but most of all knitting has opened a door into a social scene filled with many knitters and non-knitters.

Once you pull those needles and yarn out of your bag within minutes someone will comment on what you are making, that they love to knit, that their grandmother taught them when they were young and that they wished they had stuck with it.  Knitting makes you feel that you are connected to the past and that you are part of the future. That somehow using these most simple of tools, you can help to preserve and pass it on. There is something so magical in the stitches knit by hand rather than a machine. As if the love and care put into the work transfers onto the recipient of the knit wear and wills them into warmth and comfort.

I have had no greater pride than knitting a gift for a new baby and seeing the hat or blanket keeping a loved one bundled and safe. A sweater or socks for a significant other keeping them toasty warm on the walk home. It is a way of being with someone when you cannot  physically being there. Its like hugging from a distance. I know that nothing feels better than a nice warm scarf tucked over your ears, but when that scarf was knit by someone you care for, it can warm you even better. Every project I start keeps me in awe from cast on to cast off. How can it be that these two sticks and this long string have become a sweater? Truly one of man's miracles.

The sad thing is that we can get along perfectly well without knitting, but why give it up? There are people out there who love to write letters despite the fact that email is easier and faster, people who walk instead of driving, and those of us who do not use the microwave. Do yourself  a favor and pick up some sticks, ask the lady at the mall with a beautiful shawl where she got it, chances are she knit it and would be willing to teach you how. Local shops and farms often have lessons available. Connect with the past and knit yourself a place into a magical history. Learn to knit and pass it on.

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