YVONNE KENNEDY: Discovering the joy of knitting

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The craft of knitting experienced a huge surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were “staying the blazes home” with very little to pass our time. The choice for many ladies was between baking and knitting. Yarn doesn’t have any calories, so knitting was definitely the better choice.

Amazon boxes of yarn and knitting supplies started arriving on the doorsteps to the delight of eager knitters and novice learners looking for a distraction from everyday stress. Moraff’s in the Pier became a destination. At first, they offered curbside service and then they opened their doors to limited clientele to accommodate the Cape Breton knitting community.

The craft of knitting continues to thrive, both as a way to create unique hand-crafted items as well as a way of finding peace and solace during stressful times.

Doing something productive with your own hands is good for our mental health.

On a personal note, I neither knit nor crochet but my peace of mind comes when I sit down at the sewing machine.

The greatest health benefit of knitting is that it reduces stress and anxiety. The repetitive and rhythmic motions that make up knitting are very relaxing.

Researchers found that animals who perform repetitive motions trigger a release of serotonin, the neurotransmitter associated with calmness and well-being. The same thing must apply to humans.

For people who are prone to anxiety, knitting helps them feel more relaxed. It helps to lessen the intensity of their fears and clears the mind of anxious thought patterns. It is difficult to think of other stressors when you are focusing on a knitting pattern.

Knitting has been credited with improving cognitive functions along with memory and reasoning. Alternating your “knit and purl” stimulates the brain and gets the brain cells fired up.

Knitting boosts self-confidence and helps with depression. You are creating something, so you gain a sense of accomplishment. You need to focus on the pattern and disconnect from the world.

The “feel-good” effect is seeing your work progress and the self-confidence can trigger dopamine, a chemical which regulates mood, sleep patterns and a sense of control. There are a lot of things in life that we can’t control so working on your knitting project is very manageable.

You can experience these health benefits whether you knit alone or as part of a group. I know quite a few ladies who pass their time knitting at home but I only know one group who meet on a regular basis to spend a few hours knitting and socializing.

Knowing this group, I would think that there is much chatter and laughter with a few yummy treats thrown in for good measure.

This group is a gathering of “MacKay’s Corner girls” who grew up together in that particular area of Glace Bay. Like most communities, the people in Glace Bay identify themselves by the area they grew up in. In Glace Bay, you spend your childhood in either MacKay’s Corner, the Hub, the Sterling area, No. 2, Caledonia, Chappell Hill, Tablehead, No. 11, or Bridgeport.

These childhood connections remain strong even in adulthood. So many shared memories!

The MacKay’s Corner girls gather in each other’s homes to help each other with complicated patterns and to share ideas and new patterns. Some knit sweet little outfits for their grandchildren. That would be Anita MacDonald with her very first granddaughter!

Besides knitting for their own loved ones, they share their skills with the community.

 

In a recent column, I mentioned that Br. 55 Legion in Port Morien was doing a poppy project for the next Remembrance Day service in the village. Ladies from far and wide are crocheting poppies for the project.

The MacKay’s Corner girls looked online for a knitted poppy pattern. Their needles are clicking away making poppies for our community project. It does help that Norma Currie (one of the crew) lives in the village. Port Morien will be so glad to get their donation of knitted poppies.

We can all do some activity to help manage our emotions to improve our well-being.

My sister, Trish, and her friends run marathons while other people play team sports. Many people travel to local beaches to collect sea glass. Then, there are the quilters who create intricate patterns out of colourful pieces of fabric.

Others find refuge in a good book. My Homeville neighbour, Lesley Crewe, has quite the following of avid readers who lose themselves in her delightful stories.

We all have the ability to find peace and calmness in our lives.

We just have to look for it.

Yvonne Kennedy is a retired Family Studies teacher who lives in Homeville. She can be contacted at [email protected]