This is my first ever blog post on my first ever website, all about knitting!  (Thank you so much Matt & Bethan www.facebook.com/reforesttheweb/ and www.facebook.com/bethanunsworthcreative/)

“Firsts” are scary ….. but exciting…… and necessary.  Necessary to grow, if we want to grow, that is.

I really don’t remember now the first “thing” I knitted, aged 7 or 8, but I do remember so vividly the feeling of knitting.  I remember my living room, which was the main knitting venue.  I remember the gold coloured, velvet sofa which was a hand me down from my rich Uncle, the roaring coal fire set in the “all the rage” 1970s stone fireplace and the kit-kats – my Dad had  a real sweet tooth!  Living on the East coast of Scotland as a child, I was surrounded by knitters and so it was inevitable I would pick it up.  These strong women and men around me were knitting ganseys for their fisher men, nonetheless. Such a fine art with a very tangible purpose.  Simple ways but soaked in community & love.  Knitting for me was instantly comfy.

The word comfy is in the dictionary as an adjective,  the informal version of comfortable…..  I think that comfy is a state of mind.  For me back then, knitting was comfy because I seemed to be able to do it.  Effortlessly.  I enjoyed the challenge, the creativity and the ultimate satisfaction of a finished piece.  The sheer delight of transformation.  The sumptuous yarns, the tactility and the colours.  Some 40 years on!, it still feels the same.

The photo alongside this post was taken on 1/1/2019.  Another first!  My husband and I like to walk and this was our first walk of 2019.  Me in my old walking boots and him in his new Christmas boots.  His boots tick all the boxes for any hardcore Scottish walker.  A top brand, goretex waterproofing and a great price from TK Max (very important for us canny Scots!).  But it transpired that they were missing the key ingredient.  They were not comfy.  They were rubbing his ankle and they were the second pair of boots to do so (he just has weird feet!). 

My boots on the other hand are old, bought in a clearance outlet in Callander (we do love a bargain!).  They are the business.  They are warm & magically comfy.  They have comforted me for miles and miles – through the mud along the Clydeside pathways to Bothwell Castle, up Ben A‘n, along the West Highland Way, at the football pitchside watching my son and many times through  Kelvingrove and Glasgow’s botanics.  No matter what, I can count on my comfy old boots.

As I contemplated our contrasting boot experience that day, it made me think about knitting. For me knitting is just like my old comfy boots.  It fits and it soothes.  I takes me to my happy place.  Sometimes we just happen upon “stuff” be it a hobby (like the knitting was for me) or maybe it’s a person, a job or a place.  There is no logic or reason, it’s just a feeling of natural inner joy, not forced or contrived.  It’s just there instantly.  Do you know what I mean?  It is a special thing to recognise that comfy feeling, that mind state, so you can incorporate more of whatever it is into your life.  For years in my twenties I did not knit at all but sure enough it came back to me.  It was always there in the background just waiting patiently.

Sometimes life gets so busy we forget to allow ourselves the space to get comfy.  I believe that knitting is an antedote to stress, it slows us down and once the mechanics are mastered can give us that mind space to relax and get comfy.   I want to emphasise that even if knitting is not a natural thing for you, it’s worth practising.   I have made it my business to help & encourage more people to give it a try.  Nothing makes me feel happier than to see someone get it, for it to click, especially the kids in my knitting classes where the coordination when they first start is so difficult for them.  Some are naturals and take to it very intuitively and some are not but with gentle support & encouragement, they can and do, do it.   It may not feel effortless at first but just like my husband and his boots, with a little bit of perseverance (breaking them in) and adjustments (different in-soles), his comfort is improving.  There are things we can try to make knitting comfy for you too.  Your unique version of comfy.  Just like my old boots.

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