It's All in My Focus

My latest project is only for the sturdiest of knitters. It’s a blanket. On size 6 needles. All told there will be 180,840 stitches. . .give or take a few.



I’ve been working on it for about 4 months. It comes out of the knitting bag when I’m stressed and garter stitch is the only thing that appeals to me. I’m about 60,000 stitches into it.




When I’m not feeling overpowered by life I put it away and work on something more interesting or more challenging.

Right now, it’s all blanket. . .all the time.

I love the colors – dark and light green, tan and purple. I enjoy the feel and drape of the yarn as it passes through my fingers. (It’s Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool!) The pattern is “Moderne Log Cabin Blanket” from Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne.



Like everything else, if I were to spend too much time thinking about the 120,840 stitches that were left I might get pulled under by the enormity of the task. I might feel like I couldn’t do it. Like I couldn’t go on. Like it was too hard or boring and that I might as well give up now. That there’s way too much knitting to be done and it will never be completed anyway.

But that’s not how knitting works. If I look at the 120,840 stitches looming on the horizon I get overwhelmed. But how distressing is one little row? Do I get alarmed at the thought of one more little stitch?



Maybe that’s why this blanket appeals to me when life has gotten me down. If I could see all that was before me I’m quite sure I would panic. But that’s not where my focus can reside.

In the words of writer Ursula K. LeGuin, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”