I love the excitement of learning something new. A new hobby, a new thing to be creative with or to just make me think. I am forever seeking novelty, hoping to fight boredom by pushing the boundaries of my knowledge. But I think that the nicest part is when one does something for a few years, or enough times to have an opinion about the thing and to be able to do the hobby without thought. Knitting is an example. I started 20 years ago, and got serious about it 12 years ago. I remember these eras of deep exploration. Trying many types of yarns, projects. I remember working on mini top hats, elephant plushies, washcloths, cowls, beanies, slippers, scarves. In time I stopped experimenting with pattern types. I always had washcloths in my roster, but through the years it became my mindless comfort knitting. I started using smaller needles for them, and settled on a favorite cotton yarn (size 6 and KP Dishie). When I learned to make socks, I struggled, tried a few techniques and after some projects fell in love with them to the point that they became a new comfort knitting project for me. Size 1.5 gives me 8 stitches per inch on most fingering sock yarns and I am now deeply familiar with my favorite techniques and formulas (magic loop, top down, heel flap/gusset, kitchener stitch).
So if life is hard and I need to knit, I know I only need to choose a color of yarn that brings me some measure of joy and cast on. I know I don't need to browse patterns or make any decisions. For socks, I choose a cuff ribbing, think of how deep I want the cuff (12-25 rounds usually), and knit. Knitting is how I stim in a way that I feel a bit ninja I guess? No one realizes that I'm stimming (I think most of the other ways I stim were wired out of me early, but I know I spent years finding way to feel better without inviting scrutiny which I know is wrong but that's another conversation), my hands are in constant motion, and best of all, I am not thinking. I can even listen to an audiobook or video essay happily and calm my nervous system because my hands don't need to be told what to do.
The older I get, the more responsibilities and stress, the more I lean into comfort knitting. This year I decided to go back and expand a little. Shop for a new form of comfort knitting to add to my roster. I'm going to knit a shawl (Starburst by Emily Wood) next. I've made some before but it's been a decade at least so I'm excited to work on it. I also want to make myself a sweater. Two decades knitting and not one adult sweater to show for it seems like a neglect on my part! I always hesitated because I wasn't slim like a lot of the knitwear models and fretted about yardage, but there are some amazing #sizeinclusive pattern designers now that helped encourage me to take the plunge. I bought some yarn from Purl Soho to make the Cottage cardigan by Jaq Cieslak ^_^
I guess for me, it's always a push and pull to balance soothing myself and feeding this freight train of a brain I have because comfort knitting and learning new knitting is not enough. I have comfort baking (Harvest Bread, Pain de Mie, Della's Roll Dough, Chocolate Chip Muffins, Snickerdoodle Cake), comfort crochet (Giant Granny Square Blanket), comfort cooking (stir fries, domplines de Ponce, arroz con gandules). I might struggle with socializing, but I can can make darn good bread :p
Ohhhh and even if you don't like knitting, I def suggest learning about Elizabeth Zimmerman, the most badass knitter known to humanity :p Her claim to fame was knitting on a motorcycle and the marvel of knitting engineering known as the Baby Surprise Jacket!! Even knitting can be an adrenaline rush, a craft to experiment with garment structure, and a space to air one's hot takes!
Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.
– Elizabeth Zimmerman