Knitting as a Meditative Practice or the Sculling Cowl Revisited

It occurred to me that knitting could be a meditative practice.  Some meditators use a word or count breathes. The point being that you bring your focus to what you are doing. You are present in the moment.

After stating even I could do the Sculling Cowl because the lace pattern was so easy I had to eat crow and rip the whole thing back and start over.  You see, a decrease in knitting can have a right slant or a left slant.  This cowl has both right and left slanting decreases which add to the design effect. In other words sometimes the stitches need to slant one direction and other times they need to slant the other way.  However, if you are me and your mind has slipped around the corner for a little walkabout you don't notice the pattern chart has done a hard left and you are still merrily on a right hand walk about.  Blech!  And because I had not put in a life line (this was such a simple lace pattern even I could do it) I frogged the whole thing and started over.

The result:  Knitting as a Meditative Practice was born

Knitting mantra goes like this:

1
2
3
k2tog
yo
1
2

Repeat this mantra 20 times to complete the row.  Gently bring attention back to the mantra for this row.  Bring attention back again and again and again.  Even the Dali Lama says meditation is hard. 

Begin next row with a new mantra as the pattern has shifted.  What hasn't shifted is trying to stay in the moment and having to bring my attention back to the moment over and over again.

I am knitting without a lifeline.