A Stitch in Time, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise

October 29, 2011 Martha Thomases 2 Comments

Since early October, I’ve spent Tuesday afternoons teaching knitting to women with cancer and women who take care of family members with cancer.  And even though I’ve been teaching knitting to kids with cancer and caregivers on Wednesday afternoons for more than five years, this has been much different.

For one thing, when I teach kids, I walk around from room to room, knocking on doors to see who wants to participate.  After I ask all those who are in-patient, I approach people in the waiting areas and playrooms.  In other words, it’s very casual.  You want to knit, or you don’t.  I take “No” for an answer.

Tuesdays are different.  I’m in a different building, one dedicated solely to out-patients.  And I’m teaching a formal class, something each student had to sign up for in advance.  There are no fees, and the hospital supplies all the materials, so it’s a good deal, but you can’t just come in and sit down.  

You have to want it.

When I teach on Wednesdays, I’m working one-on-one with each student.  On Tuesdays, there are ten to twelve people, all trying to learn at the same time.  And, since knitting isn’t something you can learn from a blackboard, I’m scampering around the table, trying to help everyone at once.  Luckily, there are other volunteers assisting me.

The biggest difference is in the attitude of the knitters.  

The kids and caregivers on Wednesday are happy to learn to knit, but it’s not an experience they sought out.  I went to them.  It’s serendipity.  Which is great, because everyone needs an unexpected treat, especially during tough times.

The Tuesday students, however, are much more motivated.  Knitting is something they made plans to learn.

I’m a great teacher for this kind of class.  I want my students to learn to knit, but, more than that, I want them to learn how pleasurable the experience can be.  I don’t sweat the techniques or the finished product.  I just want them to enjoy touching the soft yarn, to watch the stitches intermesh, and to play with different colors.

I’m not exactly a Zen master.  I don’t do calm very well.  But, with knitting, I’ve found a way to channel my nervous energy into the needles. And with knitting, I’m a show-off, proudly strutting my latest creations.  I make my students model their work, too.

We all applaud.

Knitting won’t cure any diseases, nor will it extend one’s life.  What it does very well is focus the knitter’s mind on the work in her hands.    Each stitch is a little gem, a souvenir of that moment in one’s life.  And when we knit together, as a group, we share these moments with each other.

It’s such a gift.  I’m not sure how I can repay it.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, has too many projects going at once.