Wednesday, July 01, 2009

HOT WEATHER KNITTING

Red Maple and rhodo explode the reds

I can remember a time when people didn't knit in hot weather. Knitting was reserved for long nights by the tv or by the fireside, should we drift back a few more decades, but is there any true-blooded knitter out there who puts their needles away for summer? Yes, I know that outdoor activities exert a gravitational pull this time of year—the gardening, the barbecueing, the days at the cottage—but, really, isn't everything better done while knitting?

While it's true that I have yet to figure out how to swim while knitting and performing any exercise while holding a pair of sharp, pointy, objects is not recommended but still… here we are, just at the launch of a warm, humid, summer and I can't stop. No, it's not because technically knitting is my business, it's because knitting is my life. Ask me not to breathe, why don't you? It's true, I have the fan whirring in my face some days while others I'm forced to cart my knitting bag down to the deck to catch a cooling breeze but otherwise, it's knitting and breathing as usual. Just ad warm weather and, occasionally, sun.

And what's more, science now confirms that knitting is good for our brains, ensuring that the right and left cerebal hemisphere learn how to better communicate with one another instead of heading off to separate corners to sulk. Many other activities only use small chunks of our grey matter, encouraging our mental selves to compartmentalize into tiny, bite-sized pieces. You've heard the old adage that we only use 10% of our brain? Well, during certain kinds of knitting, we're exercising far more than that, knitting having the potential to encourage creativity, basic math, envisioning and much, much, more, all at the same time.

Just think: knitting makes you smarter. Do you want to dumb down for the next two to three months? Of course not, so, smarten up and pick up those needles!

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA!

Berber Jacket with Azaleas