"Welcome to wherever you are, this is your life, you've made it this far" (Bon Jovi)

Leaving it as we would wish to find it

When we read a book, a bookmark allows us to mark the place we had reached, so that we can put the book down in the confidence that we will be able to find our place and continue reading. 

I realised recently that there is a great delight to be had in knowing that when I pick up my knitting, I can simply continue where I left off, be it the start of a new row, or a new section of my pattern. My little knitting notebook helps me to keep track of where I am and what I have to do next, and serves as a guide to the next step. 


We need not complete the task at hand in one sitting, however, we need to leave off at a point where we will know where we are when we come back to it. 

Whether it's packing our handbag in readiness for work the night before, or finding out where everything lives and returning it to its home, we feel a sense of peace when we leave it behind. And when we come back, we can see how far we have come. We know where we are and we can move forward. 

If we leave everything as we wish to find it, it's as if we are bookmarking our lives, we can see how far we have come, and we give ourselves the energy/motivation to carry on. 

Though it may not be complete, leave nothing unfinished.

Where are you right now? 

Purlgirl xx

"Angels fly because they carry themselves lightly." (Gilbert K. Chesterton)

Letting go of what we no longer need

If I no longer love my yarn, it's up to me to give it away and let someone else discover it for their own new project. 

There is only so much time, and we need to let go, let go of the projects that we once thought we would knit, let go of the wool we no longer love, and let go of the thoughts we no longer need. 

We let go by realising what we truly need, not what we must let go of, and once we can see what we need, and we find space for it, the rest falls away easily. 

I have been spring cleaning this week, and this time my focus has not been just on tidying my room, but on organising my room, on finding where everything lives, even if perhaps that's not where I would expect others to put it.

And sometimes when we clear out our wardrobes, we clear out the old thoughts in our minds, too, and we make space for the future.  

Purlgirl xx

"Champion the right to be yourself, dare to be different and to set your own pattern, live your own life and follow your own star." (Wilferd A. Peterson)

Discovering who we are

I am learning to find out for myself what I believe, what I stand for, and what suits me. 

I realised a little while ago, that recreating what others say or do, only gets me part of the way to where I want to be. It took some time to realise that I not only had to find my own style, I had to find my own voice, too. And that what nurtures my soul, is unique to me, and only I can truly know what my limits are. 

Losing sight of that recently, left me temporarily off-balance. It brought home to me how important it is to recognise that what is true for others isn't necessarily true for us, in the same way that an outfit that suits our friend, will not necessarily fit us the way we want it to.  

We could try it on, and find a new element to add to our own style, but realise that when we look in the mirror, WE make the final decision on whether or not it fits or suits us.

We wouldn't wear the same clothes as someone else, why would we wear the same lifestyle or thoughts? 

Listen to your heart, be true to you. 

Purlgirl xx

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." (Louisa May Alcott)

Rising to the challenge

Joining a knitting group has given me the confidence to try more intricate patterns. Because if I watch others for long enough, I start to believe I can do it, too. 

Sometimes you forget that others had to start where you were, and that they have been knitting for 50 years, or even just devoted more time to it. But by being with them, in their presence, you learn not only how to fix your own mistakes, but how to aim higher, to rise to new challenges. 

Being with others gives you role models, people to aspire to, and in time, you may look up and find that you are providing inspiration to others.  

Purlgirl xx

If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it. (William Arthur Ward)

Creating ourselves one stitch at a time: 

A pattern gives us an idea of what we want to knit. It's the blueprint that draws our attention to the design, and we focus on the outcome, because we know how it will look when it's done. We could choose to use the same yarn and needles, or we could choose to use our own. We could choose to modify the pattern, or we could choose to follow it exactly. However we choose to interpret the pattern, it is special because WE knitted it.

The same is true of life, only knitting allows us to visualise the completed article, to see how we want it to be. Visualising who we want to become is a little trickier, because we don't have a pattern, a photo to work from; we have to use our imagination. We have to see this new person we want to be in our mind's eye. 

And once we start, we have to ask ourselves are we willing to commit to finishing it? And if so, what are we going to do to get there? We need to start, one stitch at a time, one row at a time, and keep going. 

We need to remember why we want to complete this project, so that we can recover if we drop a stitch, we have to go back and start again, or we have to learn a challenging new pattern. And we have to be willing to ask for help when we need it. 

The support of other knitters can be a tremendous help, it creates an environment of encouragement and support, and maybe we do need the support of our friends, to help us change in our lives. 

But once we do, knitting gives us a completed article, evidence that we achieved what we set out to do, and proof that we can do it again. 

Purlgirl xx