Knitting and Meditation

Talk about a day of mind, body, spirit, ... and knitting!  The Shambhala Center in DC had a day-long program on knitting, meditation, and a little bit of yoga thrown in also.  It was really a nice way to spend the day, and I feel like I got a lot out of it.  Though not really a part of the program, the first thing I learned was the "Portuguese knitting" technique, which was a breakthrough for me.  It's a method by which you wrap the yarn around the back of your neck (to control the tension) from right to left over your left shoulder and then use your left thumb to flick the yarn around the needle if you are a right-handed knitter.  I guess this is similar to continental or English style knitting.  I found it pretty easy, with a lot of economy of movement.  Now, of course, since you are using different small muscles, I have the feeling there might be some new twinges as a result, but I really enjoyed playing around with this technique.  Crochet will always be my first love, but I'm looking forward to adding some knit elements to future designs.

Next step, slipping stitches!