Knitting is Good For You – Sycamore Cove Knitting

Knit A Prayer Shawl For Yourself – Take Care of Your Own Soul

February 28, 2023March 2, 2023Cynthia Coe

A couple weeks ago, while taking a class at a local yarn shop, I spotted some blush pink, wool yarn with tiny black flecks spun into it. The yarn spoke to me – the soft pink reminded me of early springtime here in Southern Appalachia, with the soft pinks of cherry trees soon making their appearance. The black flecks reminded me of the black ashes I would soon have traced in the shape of a cross on my forehead for Ash Wednesday.

After hearing a call to personal growth during the Ash Wednesday service last week, I decided to make a prayer shawl just for me with this pink and black flecked yarn. I had made numerous prayer shawls for others this past year, but I reminded myself that my soul needed attention, too. Those of us active in our churches tend to find ourselves very busy ministering to other people. We serve as greeters and lectors, pack up Christmas gifts for the homeless, attend committee meetings and generally lend a listening ear or a warm hug to those in need in our communities. Lent is a time not to forget all those tasks, but to remember that you need to work on yourself, too.

My personal prayer shawl, like those I make for others, uses a simple pattern I don’t have to think about. I’m using a triple moss stitch – 3 knits, 3 purls, repeat – so that I can both zone out of day-to-day life but still stay alert enough to think and focus on my spiritual issues. We all need a fairly simple pattern for our lives, I think. We need structure and a pattern that doesn’t overwhelm us, one that keeps us from veering into chaos. But we need to keep ourselves alert and at least a little challenged as well.

This Lent, as I sit quietly knitting my pale pink prayer shawl, speckled with the black ashes of Lent, I think about how far I’ve come since becoming widowed 2 years ago. I also think about the challenges and personal growth I still need to work on. Like the progress on my personal prayer shawl, I’ve made much progress, and I’m developing into a recognizable shape. But I’ve still got a good bit of work in front of me. With God’s help, each day this Lenten season, I’ll spend a few minutes each day in quiet knitting and prayer. I’ll work on the fabric of my life, watching it grow and stretch into something complete and whole, one stitch at a time.

With Blessings for a Holy Lent, Cindy

Cynthia Coe is the author of The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, interrelated stories about knitters and those for whom they knit and love. The sequel to this book, The Knitting Guild of All Saints, has just been released! Available in paperback and on Kindle, included in Kindle Unlimited.

Holiday Survival Plan: De-stress and Zone Out Through Knitting

December 21, 2022Cynthia Coe

Are you stressed? I am. It’s that time of the year!

Yesterday, I found myself so stressed that I was shaking. As I tried to do some tedious graphics work as a volunteer project for my church, a neighbor repeatedly blew up my phone complaining about the non-functioning car in my driveway. (Because, ya know, the sight of a car on jack stands in somebody else’s driveway on the other side of a neighborhood is soooo offensive and definitely a reason to spew out a string of complaints towards the nice, quiet writer who never bothers a soul, right????) Was this person stressed out himself and taking it out on me? Probably. I’d bet many of us are dealing with other people’s stress, along with our own, about right now.

What to do? Take a deep breath…and knit! Friends, we have an important tool in our box of tricks to deal with holiday stress, end-of-year deadlines, preparations to welcome incoming family, our own travel plans, and even unhinged people deflecting their own stress onto us. We have our knitting projects, and in moments, we can pick up those needles and take ourselves away from anything that bothers us.

That’s exactly what I did yesterday. Realizing that my stress level had climbed sky high, I plopped myself down in my favorite knitting chair, picked up a simple sock project, and simply knit a couple of rows. My heart rate immediately dropped. I convinced myself that no, the whole world wasn’t conspiring against me. It would be okay.

So use those tools in your personal de-stressing kit, my fellow knitters. Sit down, pick up whatever project is on your needles, and knit one row. Maybe knit two rows. Knit for ten minutes, or two hours. Whatever you need. You’ll feel better, I promise.

We’ve all heard the reports of how knitting is good for you, how calming knitting can be. For knitters, the solution to dealing with any stressful situation is as close as our knitting baskets.

Prayers for a Peaceful Holiday Season, Cindy

The Beautiful Simplicity of One Knitting Project At A Time

January 24, 2022Cynthia Coe

I’ve often had as many as four or five knitting projects going at a time. I’ve had my “main” knitting project (usually a sweater) and my “travel” knitting project (something simple and mindless – usually a dishcloth or place mat I can work on in the school pick-up line). I might have another project or two that involve lots of counting or an intricate pattern that requires complete silence and absence of all distraction, something you can’t work on while maintaining any social skills at all.

But lately, I’ve discovered the beautiful simplicity of only having one knitting project going at a time. Maybe it’s the revived pandemic scares. Maybe it’s the implosion of the schools (again). Maybe I’m just figuring out that focusing on one thing at a time is crucial to my emotional well-being during this stressful time.

Whatever the reason, I’ve quite enjoyed working on one knitting project, rather than have several knitting projects scattered all over the house and in my car. I seem to enjoy knitting more when I don’t feel like I’m struggling to get one project moving along, with six others in an unfinished state. And – duh! – I get projects finished much, much faster when I direct all my efforts towards one project. This gives me a sense of accomplishment, seeing a completed sweater, shawl, or cowl I can immediately wear and enjoy, and on a regular basis of every week or so.

We’ve all seen the memes online, ridiculing ourselves for having way too many knitting projects (or WIPs – works-in-progress). Maybe it’s time to listen to ourselves and realize that more is not always more. For every WIP that’s left languishing in a work basket, there are unfulfilled aspirations and a sense of giving up. You don’t need that, not when you have enough stress in other areas of your life.

Enjoy your knitting. Enjoy that one project you chose and for which you have high hopes. Feel good in a few short days or weeks about what a great job you did on that one sweater you worked on to the exclusion of all other crafting projects.

Appreciate the simplicity and quiet time of meditative crafting that knitting gives you.

Blessings, Cindy

Cynthia Coe is the author of The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, a collection of interrelated short stories about knitters and those they meet through knitting and sharing prayer shawls.

Knitting Through Times of Crisis

November 2, 2020Cynthia Coe

I’ve never understood why anyone would willingly work on a tedious, difficult, and mentally taxing knitting project. Until now.

Since my teen years, I’ve always been a “meditative knitter.” Give me a project that’s easy to memorize, not too difficult, and lets me zone out. I love to make prayer shawls, easy pullovers, and straightforward yoke cardigans.

As I’ve tried to up my knitting game, I’ve tried more difficult patterns and techniques. This past fall, I took a course in double knitting at the Vogue Knitting Convention in Ohio. Double knitting took every bit of concentration I could muster. I found myself thinking, “if I’m ever in a situation where I want to block out every single thought in my head, I’ll do this kind of knitting.”

Well, here we are. On the evening of March 12, the school system closed for the year. By the next afternoon, the shelves of my local grocery store were cleared by panic buyers. Then, six weeks later, my husband was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer and given only months to live.

Needless to say, I’ve spent a lot of time knitting my way through these crises. During the worst moments, I’ve sat in my home office, working on an extremely intricate pattern with tiny needles and ultra-thin yarn, blocking out every single thought and emotion running through my body. I still work on a meditative project each and every day as my personal self-care and spiritual discipline. But I’ve also added a half hour of knitting that vanquishes thoughts of everything else going on my life, if only for a few minutes. And this has helped me simply get through each day, taking me away from the huge responsibilities suddenly placed on my shoulders.

So now I know why knitters work on all those difficult, intricate patterns and stitches. For me, it’s a more hard-core form of the meditative knitting I’ve always done. At times like these, I value my knitting for giving me peace, for giving me something tangible and constructive to do, and for helping me keep my sanity in a time of crisis.

Blessings to all my fellow knitters facing times of crisis, Cindy

Cynthia Coe is the author of The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, a collection of interrelated short stories about knitters and those they meet through knitting and sharing prayer shawls.

Staying In to Knit? Count Me In!

March 6, 2020Cynthia Coe

As the corona virus threat looms, many of us are at least thinking about – if not outright preparing – for a long period of hunkering down in our homes. Here in Tennessee, only one case has been confirmed, but we know it’s only a matter of time before it hits.

Those of us who knit may be more prepared than most for a couple of weeks of staying home and entertaining ourselves. In fact, some of us may even look forward to a quiet period of sticking close to home. As long as we have a good supply of yarn and knitting needles, we’re good to go.

Knitting has always been something of a survival activity. In times past, people knitted to provide clothing for their families and to stay warm. In times of war, women knitted socks, mittens, and sweaters for the troops on the front line.

Experts have long predicted a pandemic that would disrupt normal life as we know it, and here we are. For those of us who knit and do other handicrafts, I’d like to believe we’re a bit more prepared than most for this time in our lives. We have something to do with our time. We have something to do with our hands to keep them from touching our faces. We have something to do that will give us peace and a sense of calm, no matter what calamities take place.

And now, we finally have the perfect rationalization for hoarding all that yarn. It’s time to knit that stash, fellow knitters!

Blessings and prayers for good health, Cindy

If you need something to do while sheltered-in-place (besides knit), please take a look at my two novels, The Prayer Shawl Chronicles and Ginger’s Reckoning, both available in e-book and paperback editions, both available worldwide.

Ten Reasons To Teach Knitting or Crochet To Young People This Summer

February 7, 2020Cynthia Coe

Looking for a engaging, worthwhile activities for your summer camp? Offer Knitting or Crochet lessons. Why?

It teaches a craft they can practice and enjoy for the rest of their lives.
You’re teaching “real” life skills, not an “arts & crafts” project they’ll trash as soon as they get home.
Knitting and crochet help young people calm down and get away from their phones.
It’s perfectly acceptable for both boys and girls to knit and crochet these days.
Finishing a knitting or crochet project gives you a huge sense of accomplishment and self-esteem.
If you knit or crochet, you can make your own clothes, hats, scarves, and blankets.
If you use cotton, wool, alpaca, or bamboo yarns, you’re introducing a sustainability lesson, too.
You can engage members of your community as teachers and create bonds between generations.
Local crafters will likely donate much of the yarn you need (because all of us knit and crochet folks have leftover yarn and secret stashes we know we need to give away). You may even get donations of needles and hooks, too!
Your young people will remember “the summer I learned to knit” as one of their best memories of summer camp.

Cindy Coe is the author of two resources to help children and youth engage with nature during summer camps. Her latest book is “The Prayer Shawl Chronicles,” a collection of interrelated short stories set in and around an Episcopal Church in Tennessee.

Five Reasons to Go to a Knitting Convention

November 6, 2019Cynthia Coe

Hello Fellow Knitters! I’ve just returned from the Vogue Knitting Live Convention in Columbus, Ohio, and I’m bursting with new ideas, skills, and enthusiasm for the craft of knitting. Have you ever attended a knitting convention? If you haven’t, here’s why you should:

The Sheer Geek-Out Factor: High quality yarn everywhere you turn, like-minded new knitting friends, lots of new ideas, knitting fashion shows, and it’s perfectly okay to sit and knit at each and every event.
The Classes: Take classes by well-known, highly skilled teachers and learn advanced knitting skills – mosaic, double knitting, brioche, you name it. Plus hear talks on knitting fashion trends, design skills, sustainable wool production, and more.
The Marketplace: Find all those small but crucial niche products you need for your knitting but can’t find locally. Try out those new-fangled knitting needles you’ve had your eye on and buy directly from the manufacturer. And did I mention the yarn? Lots and lots of yarn.
Meet Craftspeople Who Make Knitting Possible: Talk to the actual craftspeople who dye the yarn, make the wooden buttons, and even raise the sheep. Put a face with that yarn you’ll use for your next project and those handmade buttons you’ll put on your next cardigan.
Re-charge Your Knitting Life: All of us need new ideas and skills to revamp, re-charge, and re-invigorate our hobby once in a while. By immersing yourself in all-things-knitting, you’ll discover new ways of practicing the knitting life you’ve always loved. It’s the ultimate “me time” for knitters.

I’ll be blogging more on what I learned and observed over the next week or so. Follow this page or the Sycamore Cove Knitting Facebook page for info on latest knitting fashion trends, product news, and how I flunked Brioche 101.

Happy Knitting! Cindy

Cynthia Coe is the author of The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, a collection of interrelated short stories about knitters and those they meet through knitting and sharing prayer shawls.

How Many Knitting Projects Do You Need? 3. You Need 3.

October 26, 2019Cynthia Coe

How many knitting WIPs (works-in-progress) do you currently have going? In looking at the online knitting forums, the answers vary widely.

Most of us knit for several reasons. It calms us down in an overly busy, wired world. It gives us something to do while we’re waiting to see the doctor, waiting in the pick-up line for kids to come out of school, waiting for a meeting to start or the bus to come. Most of us start with something simple, but eventually, we need to bump up our skills and learn something new. Portable projects are great for on-the-go knitting, but many of us will want to knit a blanket, sweater, or other project that takes up to half a room.

So for those flummoxed by why some of us have several projects going on at one time, here’s (generally) the three kinds of knitting projects most of us really need in our lives:

A Meditative Knitting Project (also known as “Medknitation”): Mindless knitting just to knit and unwind requires something simple, something we don’t have to think about. Prayer shawls, simple blankets, scarves, or even a simple placemat can fill the bill. The idea here is to tune out, knit, and rest your mind. Repetitive patterns requiring little or no counting work best. Knitting while watching TV is included.
A More Challenging Knitting Project: Meditative knitting can get monotonous, so we need something to challenge us once and awhile. Everybody needs to keep growing and expanding their skills. Working on a new knitting technique or stitch keeps us mentally fit and interested in the craft. These projects might include learning to make socks, learning mosaic or brioche knitting, or making a sweater with challenging stitches or techniques new to you.
A Portable Project Kept in Your Purse or Car: For a knitter, nothing is worse than finding yourself in a waiting room for more than ten minutes without a knitting project to work on. No, you don’t want to read the magazines on offer. You want your knitting needles!!!! So most of us keep a small project in our purse, tote bag, or even in the car for such modern inconveniences. Personally, I keep a placemat project in my tote bag, using circular needles (harder to lose than straight needles) and cheap cotton yarn. If it gets stained, dirty, or lost, it’s no big deal.

Many of us, of course have lots more projects than three on the needles. There’s that project you lost interest in, the one you ran out of yarn for, the one you somehow misplaced or forgot about. No judgements!

And if you just have one project on your needles, consider another one. For those who do meditative knitting, try something challenging. As if you’re lost in a difficult project, slow down and knit something simple. But always have a project you can pick up and take wherever you go!

Knitting Blessings, Cindy

Cynthia Coe is the author of The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, a collection of interrelated short stories about knitters and those they meet through knitting and sharing prayer shawls.

Knitting and Mindfulness

September 13, 2019Cynthia Coe

Take a deep breath, take a seat, and just knit. As knitters, most of us know the secret to winding down, tuning out, and experiencing a deep sense of calm.

Many people call this experience “mindfulness.” It’s something crafters have known and practiced for hundreds if not thousands of years. If you do a Google search for the definition of “mindfulness,” you find this: “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

Sound familiar? Knitting allows you to put everyday cares aside, focus simply on the movement of your hands, and truly live in the moment of whether you need to be knitting or purling at this specific second of your life. Some of us need an intricate pattern to accomplish this. Others of us use a simple pattern we know by heart. It all accomplishes the same thing, the state of mind we now call mindfulness.

Hope you’re having a wonderfully calm day of knitting and mindfulness, Cindy

Knitting and Creativity

August 21, 2019Cynthia Coe

Often, I may look like I’m sitting in a quiet corner, knitting. I may look absorbed in my stitches, paying no attention whatsoever to what’s going on around me.

I’m actually “writing.” And by “writing,” I mean I’m in the middle of the creative process that eventually ends up as a short story, a blog post, the outline of a non-fiction book, or even a novel. And it all includes those crucial half hours of knitting.

Other creative people probably have some form of creative meditation – fishing, woodworking, cooking, sewing. Anything relatively simple that gets you out of your daily cares and allows your subconscious to run free works as this sort of creative preparation exercise.

When I knit before writing, I always knit something I don’t have to think about too much. Several rows of garter stitch work wonders. If I know a pattern so well I can do it in my sleep, that pattern becomes “meditative” for me. It forces me to sit down and focus on a problem, while also giving my mind an opportunity to go off exploring.

I’m sure knitting-as-meditation works for anyone, even if you’ve never called it that. So for anyone who has a problem they can’t figure out, an impasse on a work project, or a relationship dilemma, take a few minutes and knit. After a few rows, the perfect answer might just pop into your head.

Blessings, Cindy

Cynthia Coe is the author of The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, a collection of interrelated short stories about knitters and those they meet through knitting and sharing prayer shawls.