Rampant (plus giveaway)
I am not the type to have any sort of holiday knitting plan. I don’t knit special things for Valentine’s Day or Halloween or even Christmas, much less time my patterns to coincide with them. So you can imagine my surprise when I realized that I was bringing Rampant, the greenest socks I’ve ever knit, back out on St. Patrick’s day. This is unnaturally good timing and very much not my usual move!
One of the most fun things about bringing back old patterns is remembering what was happening when I knit them. I knit these in the summer of 2011, when I was taking the biggest exams of my life, teaching myself how to publish a book, dealing with the surprise arrival of a very sick kitten, and having my house painted. They kept me sane(ish), upright(ish), and out of jail.
There was something about the combination of simple ribbing and a cable just fancy enough to demand a tiny bit of attention that created some sort of magic. They held my focus enough to prevent me from dwelling on whatever the crisis of the moment was, and watching them grow gave me a sense of control and accomplishment (even if everything else in my world was sort of exploding).
On a more practical note (because I hope you don’t only reach for these if your world is proving challenging), the elongated stitches do a beautiful job of breaking up pooling in variegated yarns, the pattern is written in three sizes, and they’re likely to pass muster with either guys or girls. I can’t promise they’ll be the knitting equivalent of therapy for you the way the were for me, but I’m pretty darn sure they’ll turn into lovely socks!
I’ve got a skein of the delicious Casbah by Handmaiden that I used to make these (in a breathtaking, deep, dark burgundy rather than green, but it is every bit as yummy) for one of you. Just leave a comment telling me your feelings on knitting as a sanity preservation technique for a chance to win.
And, just in case you need some therapeutic knitting right this minute, you can use the code GREEN to get a dollar off the price between now and Friday. Just put Rampant in your ravelry cart, click on the ‘use a coupon code’ button, and type in the code GREEN. You’ll see the change in price reflected right away.
Comments left between now and the end of the day (eastern time) Friday, March 20, 2015 will be entered to win. I’ll pick a winner, contact them to get their addresses, and arrange to send yarn their way. Be sure to use a real email address so I can contact you if you’ve won (I won’t do anything with those email addresses besides notify the winner). If I do email you, I need to hear back from you within 72 hours or I will pick a new winner and contact them. Sorry, but I can only send prizes to US addresses.
Knitting is definitely therapeutic for me; the repetition makes it feel very meditative.
I wasn’t much of a knitter (I was taught when I was 4 by my Grandma) until I faced a traumatic move and didn’t have access to my usual vices. Sewing had been my previous love, but knitting captured my mind and heart as a portable way to block out anxiety and daily stressors. That was in 2011- and here I am 4 years out from that very tough time in my life, and I still find sticks and wool to be a girl’s BFF. XO thanks for the pattern discount. ~puredbanjo
Those socks are just gorgeous and would be wonderful to knit a different color than my usual blue. Although I do see some peeking out here and there! Just perfect !
All the little details that focus the mind and allow one a moment of peace and quiet. One stitch at a time. It does keep me sane (somewhat). Thank you.
Knitting helps me to relax, even as I’m knitting to finish a project by a specific date. I don’t know what I’d do without my knitting.
Beautiful socks!! I accidentally wore the one green shirt I own today, so I can relate to surprising yourself with timing 😉
Knitting keeps me sane during my 4 hours of commuting per day. It makes that time feel so much less wasteful.
Green is the favorite color in my household. I love the pattern, the yarn is gorgeous!
The repetitiveness of knitting a pattern calms me. It is almost like the knit, purl is telling me to relax.
Knitting as sanity preservation? Absolutely. I would NOT have made it through grad school without my knitting. I can’t even count what I made just while writing my thesis, but I know every stitch was necessary.
Knitting is the only thing that allows me to stop my mind spinning when work and life get too crazy. When I had changed jobs and literally could not stop thinking about all the new things to handle, the act of knitting was the only thing that made me relax! I cannot live without it!
Depending on the crisis of the moment, knitting does preserve my sanity. The bigger the crisis, the simpler the knitting must be.
I say knitting is cheaper than a therapist, but then I look at my stash and wonder! It is definetly meditative and you get the added bonus of creating something.
I lost my job about 3 1/2 years ago—I still have a huge bag of garter stitch dishcloths that I knit. It’s like a life-time supply. I have used a few and given them as gifts.
It is the only way to be still and quiet and centered besides being out in nature for me. The older I get, the more I rely on the knitting to keep it all together! Mindless sanity is garter or stockinette while focused sanity is lace….
I find that knitting allows me to work out why I might be feeling bad or stressed. The repetitive motion calms me.
Most times when I notice I’m feeling particularly grouchy, notice that I haven’t knit much (or at all) in the past day or two – I’m quite sure the two things are related!
So pretty! The yarn, the pattern — both!
I knit every day ! it keeps me sane !!
i am not sure knitting is always therapeutic! Sometimes, a project needs to be frogged because swatches lie, or the yarn and pattern just don’t work, even though you really wanted them to, or any other reason why projects get set aside. Those days, knitting is frustrating and not therapeutic. Other days, it keeps me occupied and more patient while I am waiting for my appointment, taking transit, etc. Complex projects give me something to occupy my mind and force it away from work and stressors, simple projects give a lovely sense of accomplishment when not much else is going right.
Thanks for the St. Patrick’s Day reminder!
Knitting is very relaxing, Sometimes too relaxing and it makes me want to doze off. Pretty yarn – I’ve never knit with this yarn before.
Love the heel on this one. Yes, I believe normal knitting is certainly a sanity preservation technique. However, when you have startitis like I do, with projects everywhere you turn, it tends to make things a little big INsane!
Some people will never know how close they came – only because I could pick up my knitting and zone out on them.
The power of knitting can never be underestimated.
The rhythm of the knit and purl followed by more knit and purl soothes the soul (or is that sole?). The maneouver of each stitch is so simple yet so elegant to form together into a fabric that is beautiful and yet functional. And, the knitter controls it all by deciding on a pattern and selecting the yarn or selecting the yarn and designing a pattern. No matter how the knitting process is worked, I always feel contented and calm. The whole world should be knitting.
Knitting is a complete calmer for me; and green yarn is my all time favorite. Thanks for the give away
the repetition of winding the yarn over my needle and forming the stitch is so calming to me. It’s rare to see me without a project in my hands usually socks. But I have learned an important lesson – if I am highly stressed to watch my tension so that I make socks that can actually be pulled on to one’s feet.