[stylist] Knitting and Healing

[Lynda Lambert]

Yes, you can find many blind knitters on the Krafters-Korner Division site, 
too.  In fact, you can find any kind of artisan there from people who just 
make some crafts as a little hobby, to more serious artisan crafts persons. 
I think there are several of members there who are also members here on the 
writer's division, too.

We can turn anything at all into "art." The materials are of no importance, 
art can emerge from any kind of crafting materials if the person is 
imaginative and experimental in approach to them.

No matter if you have only one needle. In fact, you can knit with your hand 
and use only one needle very easily. No problem - go for it! lol

Lynda






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 7:22 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Knitting and Healing


> Lynda and others- I know many blind individuals who were either born blind
> or went blind later in life and they knit! Heck --- I use to knit ---
> learned it when I could see and took it right back up after I went 
> blind!!!
> The last thing I made were some hot-pads --- my favorite piece I knitted 
> was
> a long-long winter scarf. Mmm, wonder where my needles are hiding
> themselves! (Be it in a Haystack or house, searching for a lost needle is 
> a
> worthy yet frustrating task.)
> Like two weeks ago, I first heard of and saw knitting using only 1 needle
> --- interesting! (Guess if I find only one needle...)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
> Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 1:27 PM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Knitting and Healing
>
> I was asked to write an article on how knitting is a healing art. It will 
> be
> published in a book that is being written. Here is what I wrote to him:  I
> will paste it here since I have DOCX and so many of you cannot use it. 
> Here
> goes:
>
> "
> I always knew the joy of knitting. I had learned as a young child. On my
> own, I had taught myself how to knit by looking at a knitting book, and by
> visiting a local merchant who helped me select needles and yarn and gave 
> me
> some lessons along the way. No one in my family knitted, and I have no 
> idea
> to this day how I ever became so absorbed in knitting but it has been a
> life-long passion.
>
>
>
> My adult career has been in the arts and humanities and my first love has
> always been the visual arts. That eventually led me to become a professor 
> of
> Fine Arts and Humanities where I taught studio arts, art history, and
> English literature.
>
>
>
> In October 2007, I  was  in the middle of a sabbatical research project 
> on
> Medieval Art and Literature.   At that time, something completely 
> unexpected
> happened  to me that has changed the course of my life very  suddenly.
> Overnight, I  lost most of my eyesight to Ischemic Optic Neuropathy. It is 
> a
> stroke-like event that kills the optic nerve - there is no way to know 
> this
> will ever happen, and no treatment once it does.  But, the real story here
> is not what happened to me, but  what we do after such a life altering
> event.
>
>
>
> Loss of sight is not like any other event  that can happen to someone. For
> many people, it marks the end of life as they knew it. Trying to figure 
> out
> what to do or how to even begin to recover is a daunting new adventure 
> into
> the unknown.
>
>
>
> Very quickly I learned that no one knew what to do with me. I did not know
> anyone who had suffered sight loss. And, no one in my family or circle of
> friends knew anything about blindness.  My doctors understood how to
> diagnose me, but never knew what to do from there.  Blindness 
> rehabilitation
> is something that most doctors know nothing about. They diagnose the
> patient, and then the patient has to try to figure out what to do from 
> there
> - it was a maddening time for me and I thought my life was over  since I
> could do nothing I had done before my sight loss.
>
>
>
> I did not know if it was day or night at first. The most simple tasks were
> impossible for me to do:  How to cut my nails?  How to get tooth paste  on
> my toothbrush? How to apply make-up?  How to make a cup of tea? How to 
> make
> a phone call? How to even find a phone number? How to know what day it is
> and how to make an appointment on a calendar?  How to memorize everything 
> I
> would need to remember?  How to use a computer?
>
> For the first five months I was not able to do anything but listen to some
> books on CDs  my husband brought me from the library. But, these books 
> were
> nothing like the academic and challenging works I was accustomed to 
> reading.
> They were so boring to me, and just listening to them deepened my 
> depression
> and feelings of loss.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> One dismal winter afternoon  I sat  in the soft, velvety , pink reclining
> chair.  I was in our "pink room" as the children always called it. This 
> room
> was a solitary place where we visited with friends and sat to read on long
> winter days. It was a soft and warm place, filled with afternoon light. 
> My
> feet were extended on the foot rest, and my eyes were closed. I often sat
> with my eyes closed since it helped me to center myself and to relax.  The
> strain of trying to see would be overwhelming and I would suffer from
> painful headaches.  I would later learn that these are "bad eye days" and
> the entire body is affected by this straining of the brain to see.  I was 
> so
> aware of the connection between the brain and the body at this time.  My
> brain would try so hard to see things, and my body could not do the work 
> of
> "seeing" any longer. When a "bad eye day" would begin, it would often be
> another three days or so of intense pain throughout my body. I would end 
> up
> spending many days in bed, trying to cope with the pain and the loss. I
> became aware of the tension between my body and my mind on those bad eye
> days.
>
>
>
> On that particular day, I recall how I was thinking about the sweaters I 
> had
> been making for charity. I had been knitting sweaters for needy children.
>
> I was thinking of the sweater I had been knitting for charity and I was
> wondering how I would ever do that again.  I thought of the one I  was
> doing at the time of my  sight loss. I longed to be able to finish it. I
> began to think that maybe, just maybe, I might be able to knit again. 
> Desire
> to finish this little child's sweater just filled me and I decided to go 
> get
> the unfinished project and to give it a try.
>
>
>
> The yarn I was using was a soft acrylic worsted weight yarn.  I sat there
> with the fibers in my hand, holding my needles. I could not even see the
> color of the yarn, and certainly could not see the stitches or the 
> needles.
> My eyes stared downwards, straining to see it all, but I could not.
>
>
>
> I  began by holding the  soft yarn in place in my two hands.  Just the 
> feel
> of the yarn brought a surge of pleasure through me. The long aluminum
> knitting needles felt cold against my warm hands. I was nervous, and my
> hands were moist against the thin, cool needles.  I remembered how much I
> had always loved to knit. If nothing else in my life was going right, I
> always had my knitting. It was a place I went, and I would become one with
> the yarn and the movement as I would knit the hours away. Can I ever do 
> this
> again, I wondered?
>
>
>
> I started to move the needles, balance them between my two hands and put
> them into position for knitting.  I struggled. I tried and tried again, 
> but
> could not do it. In my solitude, I felt the sting of failure.  I felt
> worthless and useless at that moment. I shed hot tears. They slid   down 
> my
> face, to my faltering hands.
>
>
>
> In my sorrow, I suddenly  had an inkling of a thought that came to me. It
> was a revelation and something I had not thought about before.  In this
> moment, I realized I could not do it because I was trying to SEE  it. 
> The
> idea was that it seemed logical that since I could not see, I should just
> close my eyes, and try to begin to feel it.  Yes, I realized it was my
> desire to see what I was doing, that was keeping me from seeing it. I had 
> to
> learn to see things non-visually, to use my hands and fingers and my other
> senses to see. My fingers  would now become my  eyes!
>
>
>
>
>
> Soon, I was feeling my way through and I finished that sweater and donated
> it. Knitting  created a breakthrough in my healing process. Knitting gave 
> me
> a beginning  place on the pathway to my recovery.  Knitting gave me hope.
>
>
>
>
>
> Shortly after this healing breakthrough, I was able to go away to attend a
> rehab center for blind people.  Of course, I took my knitting along with 
> me.
>
>
>
> I knitted my way through the hard days of struggles and the depression of
> trying to re-learn  how to do little things that people take for granted.
> When I was feeling overwhelmed and tired for all the learning that I had 
> to
> do each day, I would retreat to my room and pick up my knitting.  It   was
> my knitting that brought me through those hard times.
>
>
>
> I learned how to put my knitting patterns onto a digital sound device
> called a Milestone. Oh, how I love this little device!  With my Milestone,
> I could carry the verbal directions with me and knit anywhere. I learned 
> how
> to put my patterns on a computer so I could "read" them again. I learned 
> how
> to organize my patters in ways that I could access them when I needed 
> them.
>
>
>
> By successfully knitting again, I gained confidence in myself and took 
> pride
> in what I could do. For me, knitting was a game changer. I was back in the
> game of knitting and being a creative soul. I continue to experience the
> healing power of knitting as I stretch myself to do projects that are
> beautiful and satisfying.  My knitting successes give me the confidence I
> need to once again be the creative person I have always been."
>
>
>
> Copyright, 2012. Lynda Lambert. All rights reserved.
>
>
>
>
>
> Lynda Lambert
>
> Lynda Lambert
> 104 River Road
> Ellwood City, PA 16117
>
> 724 758 4979
>
> My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
> My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com
>
>
>
>
>
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