Good day!

Yep. Good day today. You may read about it at my other blog. Life is pretty good. I'm on the 5th repeat on the straight section of Clapotis, and I'm very happy with it. It's such fun to knit. I've calculated that it takes me about an hour and a half to do each repeat, without breaks. I am not upset at all about the "slow going" on Clapotis. As she of the Zen Needle says, we don't all knit for the finished object, per se. We knit because it's a form of relaxation, of meditation, of, well, zen. It's the journey, not the destination. Much as I love the Elsie I knit in an afternoon, I'm enjoying the relaxing, steady pace of the Clapotis. A wonderful project that is both entertaining, forward-moving, but not too fast. It's not something I need to knit now or else I'll freeze or something. No. If the weather remains warm till the end of the semester, I won't complain that I haven't gotten to wear my Clappy. There will come chilly days when a lovely little wrap would be nice, and I can wait for the day she's blocked and beautiful and ready. Knitting is so much more than the objects. It is time, love and fiber, woven together into a creation all our own. Whether we love it or not, we've made it. We've given of ourselves and brought the yarn to life.
For me, knitting is a way for me to relax, to move my fingers, and to listen to music while doing something productive. I love music, but I can't listen to it and read or study at the same time. Knitting gives me an opportunity to do this. Despite the instant gratification of knitting, its purpose to me is separate from the mere reduction of stress and finished product. In many ways, I knit to honor those who created the art, and all those who practiced it throughout the centuries. Even if now it's cheaper to buy a store-bought sweater, it's so impersonal compared to a hand-knit one. A machine cranked out the fabric. Yes, a person fashioned it together, but the buyer has absolutely no idea who they were. One of the reasons I've been so attracted to arts and crafts throughout my life is the connection it gives me with the object and with the person it goes to. True art has a way of passing on a bit of oneself to the receiver or the viewer. There are those who will never understand the connection between a handcrafted object and the handcrafter, but knitters are not those people. Knitters understand the profundity and significance of both the process and the product. In fact, virtually all crafters can relate to what I'm saying, I believe.
To all those who create beautiful things, I want to thank you for the gift of understanding you bequeath to the world. You know how to understand and how you need to be understood. Thank you. The world is a more beautiful place because of you.