How Knitting Saved My Life

Oct 15, 2015 by Jeanette Hanscome

Okay, knitting didn’t literally save my life; I was going for the dramatic. But it did, along with crocheting, make life a lot better while adjusting to my new life as a single mom.

I learned to crochet while my family was going through a very different crisis (Thank you Marion! I will always treasure those hours when you taught me to crochet before choir practice and told me wild stories about your childhood in the Philippines. Thank you for giving me the freedom to hold the hook incorrectly because it helped me feel my way across each row. That reduced the chances of me stabbing myself in the eye with the hook.) Shortly before I found myself parenting alone I taught a friend to crochet in exchange for a knitting lesson. I’d heard that these skills could double as therapy and the rumor is definitely true. There is just something about the feel of yarn. Turns out that knitting and crocheting also…

• Provide a different form of creativity after I’m finished writing for the day
• Work off stress
• Gives me something to do while watching movies
• Gives me something to do in waiting rooms when the magazine selection is lacking
• Provide one more activity during long train trips
• Make it very easy to shop for gifts
• Keep me happier and mentally healthier (I’ve learned that I thrive when I’m being creative)

It’s very possible that I might also be preventing Alzheimer’s. That would be a nice bonus.

So why the random post about knitting/crocheting? My friend Lisa Bogart’s, who happens to be an expert knitter, just released a book that I’m really excited to read – Knit, Purl, Pray: 52 Devotions for the Creative Soul. I love that term – creative soul. Some of the most beautiful people I know fall into this category. Those of us who are creative often wrestle with the dark side of being born with a mind that never shuts off—depression, moodiness, hyper-sensitivity, a tendency to overthink things, growing up weird, staying weird as adults. But considering how creative God is, I call it a gift to be wired with a built-in desire to communicate and express, whether it’s through writing or saying “I love you” through a handmade present. I can’t wait to feed my creative soul with Lisa’s book!

In what ways has God made you creative? What do you appreciate about His creativity?