Are we relaxed yet? How about now?

“Isn’t knitting supposed to be relaxing?” 

Turns out there are some non-fiber-crafting domestic partners out there who see their beloved knitter or crocheter, hunched over on the sofa, muttering to themselves and flipping back and forth between pattern pages and YouTube videos and ask – often with terrible timing – isn’t this hobby supposed to be relaxing?

This is where I remind everyone - because I like to watch British murder mysteries while I knit - it is not relaxing to dispose of a body.

Sometimes knitting is relaxing, usually in comparison to what was happening just beforehand. Driving in Chicago traffic for an hour? Yes, a few rounds of a sock takes the edge off. A busy day at work? Absolutely, I would like to drink a cup of tea and knit for a little while. Am I a talking hedgehog who lives in a mushroom-shaped cottage? I guess so, with all the tea and sock-knitting going on.

But what you do in your spare time doesn’t always have to be so simple you can zone out while you do it. Sometimes, the point of doing something for fun is to learn something new, or try something you’ve never done before. Crocheting and knitting is good for that - there’s always a new technique you can master, or a new challenging project to try out. 

Some leisure activities are passive and don’t take much brain energy, said the talking hedgehog who just rewatched “Bridgerton.” And some leisure activities demand a little more attention.  Sometimes it’s the same activity, just practiced differently.

So don’t fret if you find your project is temporarily causing you more stress than it relieves. Think of it as a good brain stretch.

And I hope some of you will join me this summer while I hang out at the local golf course and ask all the unhappy golfers, “I thought golf was just a reason to get out in the sunshine? Isn’t it supposed to be relaxing?”

Bring your knitting; we’ll have a great time.