I have had knitting or crochet projects on the go, particularly in the cooler months, for as long as I can remember. My projects are not usually complicated. I lose interest in some and pull them apart so that the wool can be used for someting else. I have to be able to put it down and pick it up without losing my place. I'm not a particularly good knitter, not particularly fast.
There are shawls and rugs and hats and slippers and simple toys.
I was a little amused to read in a notice about the Womb-ecology Mid-Pacific conference coming up in Hawaii in 2012 that one of the workshops is ‘silent knitting’
“Of course the “silent knitting” session will be the historical symbol of the paradigm shift we are dreaming of after thousands of years of socialisation of childbirth, at a time when modern physiology is teaching us that one cannot positively help involuntary processes such as the birth process, but that some situations can inhibit them (neocortical activity and adrenaline release). Participants will be in an ideal situation to realise that avoiding the use of language is a way to reduce neocortical activity, and that a repetitive task like knitting is a way to reduce the level of stress hormones: a crucial step towards the rediscovery of authentic midwifery.”
