Lent was long...

So when they said it couldn't be done, I knew that it would be. I would give up knitting for Lent. All of Lent, even the days that don't really count (Sundays, Good Friday and Easter Saturday). Yep, that's right. Me...not...knitting. At first it seemed easy and somewhat refreshing, a relief from the self-imposed pressure of completing projects in the shortest possible time. Crochet, sewing and dyeing could provide creative outlets, and if all else failed there was always housework. 


Indeed there was some highly successful crochet

Sewing...

and dyeing...

as well as quite a lot of spinning.

Now although I love all those crafts, I hadn't realised quite how much I love knitting and how much I would miss the effect it has on my brain. Whether it's the repetitive nature of it, or the counting, or the following a pattern I'm not sure. Crocheting amigurimi (animals made up of a simple stitch) was the nearest thing I found.

I'm not one to give up on things (!) so I didn't actually lapse at all. The nearest I got was when un-knitting a hat for a fellow K1S2 knitter, it would have been very easy to knit a few stitches in the guise of 'nursing' - after all, this was permitted for the sake of my fellow knitters. I am pleased to say I resisted.

Easter Sunday approached. What to knit? Something simple, something complicated, something old, something new (or borrowed, or blue for that matter). The observation that the number of UK servicemen killed in the Falklands conflict (255) had only two factors (15 and 17) to which my knitterly mind said 'blanket' had set in train an idea for a commemorative project. Fairfield Mill had yielded some rough military green and khaki yarn...perfect. So it seemed appropriate to begin afresh with a swatch for the blanket.

The moment arrived, and although I had wondered whether I would have forgotten how to knit, my worries were unfounded. Casting on was like returning to a much loved and comfy sofa after a long and difficult journey. Soon I was surrounded by stitch dictionaries, debating the merits of granite ridge or nubbly moss. More about the blanket next time.