When they shot Jade Good

I was eating an all-day breakfast sandwich from Marks and Spencers

I don’t think I will eat one again.

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/relearning-how-to-walk-requires-physical-and-mental-strength#:~:text=All%20of%20this%20is%20monitored,have%20a%20steep%20learning%20curve.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/10/two-thirds-of-uk-voters-wrongly-think-immigration-is-rising-poll-finds?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ursula-k-le-guin

O

Leaves

BY URSULA K. LE GUIN

Years do odd things to identity.

What does it mean to say

I am that child in the photograph

at Kishamish in 1935?

Might as well say I am the shadow

of a leaf of the acacia tree

felled seventy years ago

moving on the page the child reads.

Might as well say I am the words she read

or the words I wrote in other years,

flicker of shade and sunlight

as the wind moves through the leaves.

There always were many places where you were not.

Now there are more.

But in the places where you were not

I knew that you were somewhere.

But now you are nowhere except in our minds.

And the world seems more empty to me

Without the familiar the beloved the long known

The whole world seems empty of you.

But maybe in the walled garden

I could catch you near the azaleas

Hear you singing in the distance

See your long slender body run to hide from me

But would I see your face?

Why have you abandoned me?

Why do you run from me and hi behind these old walls,?

Yes you are not here but I sense you from the corner of my eye I see you moving away running..

You’re a child again playing with me.

I almost hear you laugh now you are free of all your burdens and the pain.Ii may be happy for you leaving you in the world garden with the old bricks in the wall and the benches by the rosebed.

I see a shimmering light maybe it’s migraine

But I think it might be you teasing me.

Now the world is empty of you yet I’m still here.

You should be there or there or there but you are not.

You have gone

Low sun shines
Glistening holly leaves,ah
A wood pigeon passes

All the trees shiver
And the ends of shrubs waving
Makes me think,goodbye

Leaves like littls stars
Bare wood like burnt sienna
With its glowing orange tinge

Why are shadows long?
The sun blinds me in winter
Then it creates a moving image

Indifferent sun
Knows not of Middle East hell
But God remembers, suffers.

Criminal Jesu.
God descended to this world
He dies with victims

Why the torture
Fighting inevitable~But why such sadism?

Weep as the trees lean.
Sparrows shudder, remain.
Life is here again

Bewildered by our contradicting aims

Hurt by lawless, lasting grief and pani

The image of the refugee disdained

Shows again the face within his face;

And yet he too is human in embrace Bewildered by our contradicting aims; Obey our Christ or keep our wealth to arm

We too are nervous when we read

The lies of men whom we have picked to lead 

Who has got the courage of true gaze

To see the truth and like the Christ be flayed? 

Who will risk rejection by the mass? 

Far better to avert our eyes and pass. 

No one is an island, John Donne says 

The bell that tolls informs and shows our way.

When he went away
He said,”Lehitraot,mama.”
Do vstrechi.
He died, but I’m still here
Yes,in my heart I feel his love.
But why did I live,
And he did not?
Auf wiedersehen
Lehitraot.
Yes,darling,I’ll see you later
,When the sky turns black and all the stars blaze bright
I’ll see you shining in the night.
I’ll see you in my dreams alas.
Do vstrechi.
But why you and not me too?
Araka
I can’t understand
.Lehitraot,beloved.
A plus tard
Some where in this world,you fell
But no-one,not even God, can tell.
God was absent then or in some other place
He’s gone again
.They said He’s died too
,But He didn’t have a mother like you.
Do vstrechi.
My breasts ache and my heart and soul,
My breasts were made to make you whole.
To feed, give love and to console.
A plus tard
And now they ache with grief as my tears fall
.A bientot
My body trembles in the night
As dreams may bring my lost ones to my sight.
A plus
I’d walk across the roughest bleak terrain
If l I could find my loves and hold your hands again.
Do vstrechi
.The bell rings on the ancient clock
As time goes on as normal,  never stops.
Araka
I wish the hands of time could be reversed,
And I was not living with this curse.
People forget that I once had a son.
They think my grieving has been done.
Araka.But grief and loss and pain will never end
Until the curtain of my death descends
Auf wiedersehen.
Meantime I look at flowers and birds and trees
,But it’s really you my deepening insight sees.
Lehitraot.
The inscape of my heart is shown to few.
An artist of the lost would know this view.
I know I want to see just you.
Do vstrechi.
But for me there is noAuf wiedersehen
Never again will you say
What you said that day
Lehitraot,Mama.Papa
A plus tard
Tot ziens.
See you later
See you ,darling
See you soon

How can it be that he is never here?
How can it be I do not hear that voice
His presence haunts from his old ,battered chair

Though I have money and no need unbare
I feel the grief , the affect of his choice.
How can it be that he is never here?

What is the world when loss turns to despair.
When every sheet by weeping is made moist?
His presence haunts from his beloved chair

Now we learn the symbol of the hare
Unpeaceful, hunted, jugged or potted roast
How can it be that he was ever here?

Into the real we stand and long time stare
We’re begging, blaming,badgered and then gassed
His presence feints with ours in death’s own lairs

Now the world of man has long surpassed
The time we could blame God for what we‘ve missed
How can it be that He is never here?
His absence haunts , symbolic , suffered, real

There was a young lady in Ealing.

Who slept upside down on the ceiling

She said, if I fall out 

I’ll get quite a clout

In the meantime the floor has been healing.

Does gravity not affect women?

And that is just the beginning

Their verses don’t rhyme

Their clocks have no chimes

And that is the least of their sinning.

For no mother is perfectly good

None ever do all they could

We’ve all known the pain

And given them the blame.

Then there’s war and the shedding of blood.

Why do we all want more stuff ?

I am speaking now quite off the cuff.

To Greenland we will go to live in the snow.

For sure, we’ve never had it so rough

https://writingexplained.org/oriented-vs-orientated-difference

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/dannie-abse

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/learning/word-of-the-day-didactic.html

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jan/05/poem-of-the-week-renegade-by-lionel-johnson

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jan/07/art-could-save-your-life-creative-ways-make-2026-happier-healthier?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Annie the nubile,sexy and colour fancying neighbour has persuaded Mary that as Stan has run away shem should find someone else.Mary is doubtful
First of all,Annie cried,you need some new shoes.No man will be charmed by those chunky comfy flatties.Nor do your socks show sophistication
She herself wore a pink tweed suit and some high heeled boots in purple patent leather.
Well,Mary,answered,I thought I should be myself because a man might be annoyed being tricked like that.I believe in honesty.
That’s their problem said Annie rudely.
Well.where do I get the sort of socks a man would like,if indeed all men are the same in that way?I’d stick with silky black ones,said Annie kindly.Then some smart black pumps.
But if I look at Soul-mates online the men will not know what shoes I have got on.
That’s true,said Annie.At least until you meet one.
Anyway if it is called Soul-mates,why does my body matte
Don’t be so literal,dear.You know it’s just a way of indicating they want a lover.
Well.in that case it’s my lingerie that matters.
See here,said Annie bossily.With those shoes and socks nobody will want to see your lingerie.
Just as well said Mary.I don’t have any.
Are you telling me you have no underwear on,Mary whispered Annie cried franticaly
I am wearing some woollen vests and underpants I got for Stan,Mary said shyly
People might think you are a transvestite,pardon the pun re vesI have heard of transcendence but not transgender,Mary admitted ruefully.I
did used to have a purple bra, she continued nervously.Anyway, what about my job?
Don’t put anything about maths on the form.They hate clever women.
Surely they are not all the same,Mary answered.
Mary Archer is very clever.And Jeffrey is very rich.
You can’t generalise from one example ,Annie informed her academically

How about my love of Wittgenstein,shall I allude to that?
If you wear men’s woollen underwear and love a dead gay philosopher it will cut down the pool of men available,one might guess,Annie shouted.

I don’t think I’ll bother,Mary whispered.I’d rather have a cup of tea.Or maybe I’ll enter a convent and never come out again
.
So Annie put the kettle on and they did the Times Crossword from November 12 th 1956.Eventually they will crack it.Or die trying.

How we spend our days, is of course, how we spend our lives.’

Annie Dillard

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jan/04/they-dont-have-a-nice-socket-structure-how-to-really-look-after-your-knees?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/17/sara-maitland-savour-solitude-it-is-not-the-same-as-loneliness?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/at-home/knitting-mood-booster.html

X

But the craft can also trigger mental health benefits. Many studies have been published that show knitting helps to manage chronic pain, improve cognitive function and even increase happiness. Perhaps most relevant to these uncertain times, a survey of knitters taken last year by the Abo Akademi University in Finland indicated that they felt knitting “can be a counterbalance to a stressful job, hectic lifestyle or other demanding situations in life.”

Soothing stitching

Amy Reddinger, a dean at Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Mich., came back to knitting after a long hiatus in March, when the campus closed and she needed a way to get away from screens. Her first project was an ambitious one — a complicated shawl using some fairly advanced techniques.

ADVERTISEMENThttps://4d484827728e7aeac0abbd75435d9723.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html?n=0

“I almost quit a lot of times,” Ms. Reddinger, 45, said. “But I kept at it, and I was both miserable and joyful at times — it was a good emotional process for me.”

She valued the level of challenge as a “great distraction from the chaos and stress of the unknown.”

It’s well known in knitting circles that there are two types of knitters: those who focus on the results — a comfortable sweater, mittens to match a new winter coat, a gift for an upcoming baby shower — and those who focus on the process. Process knitters knit for knitting’s sake. They value the soothing repetitive motions and the feel of the yarn running through their fingers, relish the colors, the act of creation. They enjoy the good things that come with it, without having to fuss about their work being perfect, or their scarf being stylish.

If you are considering picking up knitting, think of it as meditation with a little bit of equipment. Approach it for the joy of the process and to take some pressure off. (Also, it’s a good way to keep your hands out of the candy bowl if you want to change your eating habits.)

ADVERTISEMENT

Warm outputs

And if the result is something that can keep you (or a friend or family member) warm, it’s a fantastic bonus. Just think: scarves! Hats! Mittens! Sweaters! Stylish statements, gifts for loved ones, blankets to welcome new babies. Once you become more accomplished, you’ll be a mitten machine.

Ruhee Dewji, a Canadian software developer who lives on her own, took up knitting in early spring at the encouragement of some friends. Before the pandemic, Ms. Dewji, 31, filled her spare time playing music in bands; she found playing on her own during lockdown just emphasized her loneliness.

She finds knitting an uncomplicated joy with many benefits, but one stands out.

“I’ve mostly made things for other people, and I realized that when you are making something for someone you love, you are thinking about them with every single stitch, and somehow that feels less lonely even though I am doing it all alone,” she said.

Supportive communities

Although knitting is a single-person activity, many knitters enjoy gathering, both online and in person, to share the successes, laugh about the mistakes and learn from one another. The portability of knitting is crucial, and as knitting doesn’t require one’s full focus or attention, you are able to engage with the people around you. In the Before Times, yarn shops would hold knit-nights and libraries had crafting groups. There are also formal knitting guilds, and most major cities seem to have at least one group of self-identified “drunken knitters” who meet in bars.

ADVERTISEMENT

Most knit-nights and classes went virtual early this year, making them accessible to faraway members and those nearby with physical or other limitations that may not let them appear in person.

Before the pandemic, Seattle Yarn hosted three regular in-person gatherings every week. Destiny Itano, a co-owner, said that when travel and gathering restrictions were put in place, both staff members and customers were “devastated” at the thought that these groups might not continue. Within a couple of weeks of the city’s lockdown, they set up online sessions and have been hosting two events a week ever since. Ms. Itano said that she was “surprised how well they work — not only as social gatherings, but as a way for knitters to offer and get help with their stitching.”

And the local knitting community has expanded: Ms. Itano’s mother joins from her home in Alaska, and a regular attendee to their Saturday morning group lives in Germany. They plan to keep these groups going even after the shop is fully operational again.

How to get started

Before you begin, know that focusing on the end result means that many beginners are often too impatient with the inevitably imperfect results of their first projects. The first of anything you make will not be great. (Admit it, there was some disastrously inedible sourdough this past spring.) And it doesn’t matter one bit. You still get all the benefits (virtuous or not) whether or not you come away with a wearable scarf. You’re still going to be relaxed and mindful whether or not the beanie fits.

ADVERTISEMENT

But to make that hat, you’ll need balls of yarn and knitting needles. Look to specialized local yarn shops (L.Y.S.’s), big-box craft stores and online retailers like knitpicks.com and yarn.com, the website of the knitting retailer WEBS. Yarn and craft stores also offer instruction and specific learn-to-knit kits for beginners.

Know that yarn comes in different thicknesses, and needles are sized to suit. Always choose your yarn first — beginners might want something on the thicker side, and in a lighter color so you can see what you’re doing and make fast progress. The yarn label indicates the size of needle to use.

If you prefer learning with books, introductory manuals are easy to find in thrift and used-book stores, and the instructions themselves don’t change. But it might be worth investing in a newer one: The projects are more modern, and they use the readily available materials. “Vogue Knitting: The Learn To Knit Book” or “Knit How” are two good choices.

There are plenty of free online and video resources, too. The video lessons at knittinghelp.com are well presented, accurate and clear, while ModernDailyKnitting.com has articles, lessons, patterns and other goodies for knitters of all levels.

ADVERTISEMENT

To meet other knitters, check out the online classes, virtual knit-nights and other social gatherings hosted by a yarn shop in your area. Even if you can’t visit in person, their websites and social media will give you a sense of who they are and what they do.

In New York City, Knitty City and String Thing Studio are two shops that are striving to maintain and bolster knitting communities, even under this year’s necessary restrictions.

Felicia Eve, owner of String Thing Studio in Brooklyn, sells a standard kit for novices, and offers one-on-one appointments, both in-person and online, to teach the basics. She urges beginners to be soothed by knitting’s colors and textures, and to value its meditative nature, but also to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process.

“Cherish the wonkiness,” she said.

Want to pick up those needles and yarn?

More stories about knitting during lockdown

Knitting for the ApocalypseMay 8, 2020

In a Stressful Time, Knitting for Calm and ConnectionNov. 2, 2020

---

Managing Anxiety and Stress

Stay balanced in the face of stress and anxiety with our collection of tools and advice.

---

• First, bring calm and clarity into your life with these 10 tips.
• Next, identify what you are dealing with: Is it worry, anxiety or stress?
• Consider a mental health day. Here is how to make the most of them.
• Embrace these three Scandinavian secrets to resilience.
• Stress is unavoidable in modern life, but it doesn’t have to get you down. This guide can help you keep in check.
• As fall approaches, you might be feeling down and anxious. Here is how you can manage those end-of-summer feelings with grace.
• Can supplements help with depression or anxiety? Here’s what the evidence says about what works — and what doesn’t.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on WhatsApp
• Post on Twitter
• Mail

Newsletters you might like

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The Morning

Make sense of the day’s news and ideas. David Leonhardt and Times journalists guide you through what’s happening — and why it matters.Get this newsletter

AS NEEDED

Breaking News

Get informed as important news breaks around the world.Get this newsletter

WEEKDAYS

Coronavirus Briefing

An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment.Get this newsletter

More in Science

ImageCredit…Watcharapong HongjamrassilpWhen Sarcastic Fringeheads Open Their Mouths, Watch OutOct. 14, 2022

Why Some Penguins Give Up on Half of Their Unhatched EggsOct. 13, 2022

Secrets Preserved in the Skin of Dakota the ‘Dino Mummy’Oct. 13, 2022

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But the craft can also trigger mental health benefits. Many studies have been published that show knitting helps to manage chronic pain, improve cognitive function and even increase happiness. Perhaps most relevant to these uncertain times, a survey of knitters taken last year by the Abo Akademi University in Finland indicated that they felt knitting “can be a counterbalance to a stressful job, hectic lifestyle or other demanding situations in life.”

Soothing stitching

Amy Reddinger, a dean at Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Mich., came back to knitting after a long hiatus in March, when the campus closed and she needed a way to get away from screens. Her first project was an ambitious one — a complicated shawl using some fairly advanced techniques.

ADVERTISEMENThttps://4d484827728e7aeac0abbd75435d9723.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html?n=0

“I almost quit a lot of times,” Ms. Reddinger, 45, said. “But I kept at it, and I was both miserable and joyful at times — it was a good emotional process for me.”

She valued the level of challenge as a “great distraction from the chaos and stress of the unknown.”

It’s well known in knitting circles that there are two types of knitters: those who focus on the results — a comfortable sweater, mittens to match a new winter coat, a gift for an upcoming baby shower — and those who focus on the process. Process knitters knit for knitting’s sake. They value the soothing repetitive motions and the feel of the yarn running through their fingers, relish the colors, the act of creation. They enjoy the good things that come with it, without having to fuss about their work being perfect, or their scarf being stylish.

If you are considering picking up knitting, think of it as meditation with a little bit of equipment. Approach it for the joy of the process and to take some pressure off. (Also, it’s a good way to keep your hands out of the candy bowl if you want to change your eating habits.)

ADVERTISEMENT

Warm outputs

And if the result is something that can keep you (or a friend or family member) warm, it’s a fantastic bonus. Just think: scarves! Hats! Mittens! Sweaters! Stylish statements, gifts for loved ones, blankets to welcome new babies. Once you become more accomplished, you’ll be a mitten machine.

Ruhee Dewji, a Canadian software developer who lives on her own, took up knitting in early spring at the encouragement of some friends. Before the pandemic, Ms. Dewji, 31, filled her spare time playing music in bands; she found playing on her own during lockdown just emphasized her loneliness.

She finds knitting an uncomplicated joy with many benefits, but one stands out.

“I’ve mostly made things for other people, and I realized that when you are making something for someone you love, you are thinking about them with every single stitch, and somehow that feels less lonely even though I am doing it all alone,” she said.

Supportive communities

Although knitting is a single-person activity, many knitters enjoy gathering, both online and in person, to share the successes, laugh about the mistakes and learn from one another. The portability of knitting is crucial, and as knitting doesn’t require one’s full focus or attention, you are able to engage with the people around you. In the Before Times, yarn shops would hold knit-nights and libraries had crafting groups. There are also formal knitting guilds, and most major cities seem to have at least one group of self-identified “drunken knitters” who meet in bars.

ADVERTISEMENT

Most knit-nights and classes went virtual early this year, making them accessible to faraway members and those nearby with physical or other limitations that may not let them appear in person.

Before the pandemic, Seattle Yarn hosted three regular in-person gatherings every week. Destiny Itano, a co-owner, said that when travel and gathering restrictions were put in place, both staff members and customers were “devastated” at the thought that these groups might not continue. Within a couple of weeks of the city’s lockdown, they set up online sessions and have been hosting two events a week ever since. Ms. Itano said that she was “surprised how well they work — not only as social gatherings, but as a way for knitters to offer and get help with their stitching.”

And the local knitting community has expanded: Ms. Itano’s mother joins from her home in Alaska, and a regular attendee to their Saturday morning group lives in Germany. They plan to keep these groups going even after the shop is fully operational again.

How to get started

Before you begin, know that focusing on the end result means that many beginners are often too impatient with the inevitably imperfect results of their first projects. The first of anything you make will not be great. (Admit it, there was some disastrously inedible sourdough this past spring.) And it doesn’t matter one bit. You still get all the benefits (virtuous or not) whether or not you come away with a wearable scarf. You’re still going to be relaxed and mindful whether or not the beanie fits.

ADVERTISEMENT

But to make that hat, you’ll need balls of yarn and knitting needles. Look to specialized local yarn shops (L.Y.S.’s), big-box craft stores and online retailers like knitpicks.com and yarn.com, the website of the knitting retailer WEBS. Yarn and craft stores also offer instruction and specific learn-to-knit kits for beginners.

Know that yarn comes in different thicknesses, and needles are sized to suit. Always choose your yarn first — beginners might want something on the thicker side, and in a lighter color so you can see what you’re doing and make fast progress. The yarn label indicates the size of needle to use.

If you prefer learning with books, introductory manuals are easy to find in thrift and used-book stores, and the instructions themselves don’t change. But it might be worth investing in a newer one: The projects are more modern, and they use the readily available materials. “Vogue Knitting: The Learn To Knit Book” or “Knit How” are two good choices.

There are plenty of free online and video resources, too. The video lessons at knittinghelp.com are well presented, accurate and clear, while ModernDailyKnitting.com has articles, lessons, patterns and other goodies for knitters of all levels.

ADVERTISEMENT

To meet other knitters, check out the online classes, virtual knit-nights and other social gatherings hosted by a yarn shop in your area. Even if you can’t visit in person, their websites and social media will give you a sense of who they are and what they do.

In New York City, Knitty City and String Thing Studio are two shops that are striving to maintain and bolster knitting communities, even under this year’s necessary restrictions.

Felicia Eve, owner of String Thing Studio in Brooklyn, sells a standard kit for novices, and offers one-on-one appointments, both in-person and online, to teach the basics. She urges beginners to be soothed by knitting’s colors and textures, and to value its meditative nature, but also to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process.

“Cherish the wonkiness,” she said.

Want to pick up those needles and yarn?

More stories about knitting during lockdown

Knitting for the ApocalypseMay 8, 2020

In a Stressful Time, Knitting for Calm and ConnectionNov. 2, 2020

---

Managing Anxiety and Stress

Stay balanced in the face of stress and anxiety with our collection of tools and advice.

---

• First, bring calm and clarity into your life with these 10 tips.
• Next, identify what you are dealing with: Is it worry, anxiety or stress?
• Consider a mental health day. Here is how to make the most of them.
• Embrace these three Scandinavian secrets to resilience.
• Stress is unavoidable in modern life, but it doesn’t have to get you down. This guide can help you keep in check.
• As fall approaches, you might be feeling down and anxious. Here is how you can manage those end-of-summer feelings with grace.
• Can supplements help with depression or anxiety? Here’s what the evidence says about what works — and what doesn’t.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on WhatsApp
• Post on Twitter
• Mail

Newsletters you might like

DAILY

The Morning

Make sense of the day’s news and ideas. David Leonhardt and Times journalists guide you through what’s happening — and why it matters.Get this newsletter

AS NEEDED

Breaking News

Get informed as important news breaks around the world.Get this newsletter

WEEKDAYS

Coronavirus Briefing

An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment.Get this newsletter

More in Science

ImageCredit…Watcharapong HongjamrassilpWhen Sarcastic Fringeheads Open Their Mouths, Watch OutOct. 14, 2022

Why Some Penguins Give Up on Half of Their Unhatched EggsOct. 13, 2022

Secrets Preserved in the Skin of Dakota the ‘Dino Mummy’Oct. 13, 2022

ADVERTISEMENT

Site Information Navigation

• © 2022 NYTCo

• NYTCo
• Contact Us
• Accessibility
• Work with us
• Advertise
• T Brand Studio
• Your Ad Choices
• Privacy Policy
• California Notices
• Terms of Service
• Terms of Sale
• Site Map
• Help
• Subscriptions

Something went wrong. Please

But the craft can also trigger mental health benefits. Many studies have been published that show knitting helps to manage chronic pain, improve cognitive function and even increase happiness. Perhaps most relevant to these uncertain times, a survey of knitters taken last year by the Abo Akademi University in Finland indicated that they felt knitting “can be a counterbalance to a stressful job, hectic lifestyle or other demanding situations in life.”

Soothing stitching

Amy Reddinger, a dean at Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Mich., came back to knitting after a long hiatus in March, when the campus closed and she needed a way to get away from screens. Her first project was an ambitious one — a complicated shawl using some fairly advanced techniques.

ADVERTISEMENThttps://4d484827728e7aeac0abbd75435d9723.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html?n=0

“I almost quit a lot of times,” Ms. Reddinger, 45, said. “But I kept at it, and I was both miserable and joyful at times — it was a good emotional process for me.”

She valued the level of challenge as a “great distraction from the chaos and stress of the unknown.”

It’s well known in knitting circles that there are two types of knitters: those who focus on the results — a comfortable sweater, mittens to match a new winter coat, a gift for an upcoming baby shower — and those who focus on the process. Process knitters knit for knitting’s sake. They value the soothing repetitive motions and the feel of the yarn running through their fingers, relish the colors, the act of creation. They enjoy the good things that come with it, without having to fuss about their work being perfect, or their scarf being stylish.

If you are considering picking up knitting, think of it as meditation with a little bit of equipment. Approach it for the joy of the process and to take some pressure off. (Also, it’s a good way to keep your hands out of the candy bowl if you want to change your eating habits.)

ADVERTISEMENT

Warm outputs

And if the result is something that can keep you (or a friend or family member) warm, it’s a fantastic bonus. Just think: scarves! Hats! Mittens! Sweaters! Stylish statements, gifts for loved ones, blankets to welcome new babies. Once you become more accomplished, you’ll be a mitten machine.

Ruhee Dewji, a Canadian software developer who lives on her own, took up knitting in early spring at the encouragement of some friends. Before the pandemic, Ms. Dewji, 31, filled her spare time playing music in bands; she found playing on her own during lockdown just emphasized her loneliness.

She finds knitting an uncomplicated joy with many benefits, but one stands out.

“I’ve mostly made things for other people, and I realized that when you are making something for someone you love, you are thinking about them with every single stitch, and somehow that feels less lonely even though I am doing it all alone,” she said.

Supportive communities

Although knitting is a single-person activity, many knitters enjoy gathering, both online and in person, to share the successes, laugh about the mistakes and learn from one another. The portability of knitting is crucial, and as knitting doesn’t require one’s full focus or attention, you are able to engage with the people around you. In the Before Times, yarn shops would hold knit-nights and libraries had crafting groups. There are also formal knitting guilds, and most major cities seem to have at least one group of self-identified “drunken knitters” who meet in bars.

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Most knit-nights and classes went virtual early this year, making them accessible to faraway members and those nearby with physical or other limitations that may not let them appear in person.

Before the pandemic, Seattle Yarn hosted three regular in-person gatherings every week. Destiny Itano, a co-owner, said that when travel and gathering restrictions were put in place, both staff members and customers were “devastated” at the thought that these groups might not continue. Within a couple of weeks of the city’s lockdown, they set up online sessions and have been hosting two events a week ever since. Ms. Itano said that she was “surprised how well they work — not only as social gatherings, but as a way for knitters to offer and get help with their stitching.”

And the local knitting community has expanded: Ms. Itano’s mother joins from her home in Alaska, and a regular attendee to their Saturday morning group lives in Germany. They plan to keep these groups going even after the shop is fully operational again.

How to get started

Before you begin, know that focusing on the end result means that many beginners are often too impatient with the inevitably imperfect results of their first projects. The first of anything you make will not be great. (Admit it, there was some disastrously inedible sourdough this past spring.) And it doesn’t matter one bit. You still get all the benefits (virtuous or not) whether or not you come away with a wearable scarf. You’re still going to be relaxed and mindful whether or not the beanie fits.

ADVERTISEMENT

But to make that hat, you’ll need balls of yarn and knitting needles. Look to specialized local yarn shops (L.Y.S.’s), big-box craft stores and online retailers like knitpicks.com and yarn.com, the website of the knitting retailer WEBS. Yarn and craft stores also offer instruction and specific learn-to-knit kits for beginners.

Know that yarn comes in different thicknesses, and needles are sized to suit. Always choose your yarn first — beginners might want something on the thicker side, and in a lighter color so you can see what you’re doing and make fast progress. The yarn label indicates the size of needle to use.

If you prefer learning with books, introductory manuals are easy to find in thrift and used-book stores, and the instructions themselves don’t change. But it might be worth investing in a newer one: The projects are more modern, and they use the readily available materials. “Vogue Knitting: The Learn To Knit Book” or “Knit How” are two good choices.

There are plenty of free online and video resources, too. The video lessons at knittinghelp.com are well presented, accurate and clear, while ModernDailyKnitting.com has articles, lessons, patterns and other goodies for knitters of all levels.

ADVERTISEMENT

To meet other knitters, check out the online classes, virtual knit-nights and other social gatherings hosted by a yarn shop in your area. Even if you can’t visit in person, their websites and social media will give you a sense of who they are and what they do.

In New York City, Knitty City and String Thing Studio are two shops that are striving to maintain and bolster knitting communities, even under this year’s necessary restrictions.

Felicia Eve, owner of String Thing Studio in Brooklyn, sells a standard kit for novices, and offers one-on-one appointments, both in-person and online, to teach the basics. She urges beginners to be soothed by knitting’s colors and textures, and to value its meditative nature, but also to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process.

“Cherish the wonkiness,” she said.

Want to pick up those needles and yarn?

More stories about knitting during lockdown

Knitting for the ApocalypseMay 8, 2020

In a Stressful Time, Knitting for Calm and ConnectionNov. 2, 2020

---

Managing Anxiety and Stress

Stay balanced in the face of stress and anxiety with our collection of tools and advice.

---

• First, bring calm and clarity into your life with these 10 tips.
• Next, identify what you are dealing with: Is it worry, anxiety or stress?
• Consider a mental health day. Here is how to make the most of them.
• Embrace these three Scandinavian secrets to resilience.
• Stress is unavoidable in modern life, but it doesn’t have to get you down. This guide can help you keep in check.
• As fall approaches, you might be feeling down and anxious. Here is how you can manage those end-of-summer feelings with grace.
• Can supplements help with depression or anxiety? Here’s what the evidence says about what works — and what doesn’t.

• Share on Facebook
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• Mail

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The Morning

Make sense of the day’s news and ideas. David Leonhardt and Times journalists guide you through what’s happening — and why it matters.Get this newsletter

AS NEEDED

Breaking News

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WEEKDAYS

Coronavirus Briefing

An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment.Get this newsletter

More in Science

ImageCredit…Watcharapong HongjamrassilpWhen Sarcastic Fringeheads Open Their Mouths, Watch OutOct. 14, 2022

Why Some Penguins Give Up on Half of Their Unhatched EggsOct. 13, 2022

Secrets Preserved in the Skin of Dakota the ‘Dino Mummy’Oct. 13, 2022

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But the craft can also trigger mental health benefits. Many studies have been published that show knitting helps to manage chronic pain, improve cognitive function and even increase happiness. Perhaps most relevant to these uncertain times, a survey of knitters taken last year by the Abo Akademi University in Finland indicated that they felt knitting “can be a counterbalance to a stressful job, hectic lifestyle or other demanding situations in life.”

Soothing stitching

Amy Reddinger, a dean at Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Mich., came back to knitting after a long hiatus in March, when the campus closed and she needed a way to get away from screens. Her first project was an ambitious one — a complicated shawl using some fairly advanced techniques.

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“I almost quit a lot of times,” Ms. Reddinger, 45, said. “But I kept at it, and I was both miserable and joyful at times — it was a good emotional process for me.”

She valued the level of challenge as a “great distraction from the chaos and stress of the unknown.”

It’s well known in knitting circles that there are two types of knitters: those who focus on the results — a comfortable sweater, mittens to match a new winter coat, a gift for an upcoming baby shower — and those who focus on the process. Process knitters knit for knitting’s sake. They value the soothing repetitive motions and the feel of the yarn running through their fingers, relish the colors, the act of creation. They enjoy the good things that come with it, without having to fuss about their work being perfect, or their scarf being stylish.

If you are considering picking up knitting, think of it as meditation with a little bit of equipment. Approach it for the joy of the process and to take some pressure off. (Also, it’s a good way to keep your hands out of the candy bowl if you want to change your eating habits.)

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Warm outputs

And if the result is something that can keep you (or a friend or family member) warm, it’s a fantastic bonus. Just think: scarves! Hats! Mittens! Sweaters! Stylish statements, gifts for loved ones, blankets to welcome new babies. Once you become more accomplished, you’ll be a mitten machine.

Ruhee Dewji, a Canadian software developer who lives on her own, took up knitting in early spring at the encouragement of some friends. Before the pandemic, Ms. Dewji, 31, filled her spare time playing music in bands; she found playing on her own during lockdown just emphasized her loneliness.

She finds knitting an uncomplicated joy with many benefits, but one stands out.

“I’ve mostly made things for other people, and I realized that when you are making something for someone you love, you are thinking about them with every single stitch, and somehow that feels less lonely even though I am doing it all alone,” she said.

Supportive communities

Although knitting is a single-person activity, many knitters enjoy gathering, both online and in person, to share the successes, laugh about the mistakes and learn from one another. The portability of knitting is crucial, and as knitting doesn’t require one’s full focus or attention, you are able to engage with the people around you. In the Before Times, yarn shops would hold knit-nights and libraries had crafting groups. There are also formal knitting guilds, and most major cities seem to have at least one group of self-identified “drunken knitters” who meet in bars.

ADVERTISEMENT

Most knit-nights and classes went virtual early this year, making them accessible to faraway members and those nearby with physical or other limitations that may not let them appear in person.

Before the pandemic, Seattle Yarn hosted three regular in-person gatherings every week. Destiny Itano, a co-owner, said that when travel and gathering restrictions were put in place, both staff members and customers were “devastated” at the thought that these groups might not continue. Within a couple of weeks of the city’s lockdown, they set up online sessions and have been hosting two events a week ever since. Ms. Itano said that she was “surprised how well they work — not only as social gatherings, but as a way for knitters to offer and get help with their stitching.”

And the local knitting community has expanded: Ms. Itano’s mother joins from her home in Alaska, and a regular attendee to their Saturday morning group lives in Germany. They plan to keep these groups going even after the shop is fully operational again.

How to get started

Before you begin, know that focusing on the end result means that many beginners are often too impatient with the inevitably imperfect results of their first projects. The first of anything you make will not be great. (Admit it, there was some disastrously inedible sourdough this past spring.) And it doesn’t matter one bit. You still get all the benefits (virtuous or not) whether or not you come away with a wearable scarf. You’re still going to be relaxed and mindful whether or not the beanie fits.

ADVERTISEMENT

But to make that hat, you’ll need balls of yarn and knitting needles. Look to specialized local yarn shops (L.Y.S.’s), big-box craft stores and online retailers like knitpicks.com and yarn.com, the website of the knitting retailer WEBS. Yarn and craft stores also offer instruction and specific learn-to-knit kits for beginners.

Know that yarn comes in different thicknesses, and needles are sized to suit. Always choose your yarn first — beginners might want something on the thicker side, and in a lighter color so you can see what you’re doing and make fast progress. The yarn label indicates the size of needle to use.

If you prefer learning with books, introductory manuals are easy to find in thrift and used-book stores, and the instructions themselves don’t change. But it might be worth investing in a newer one: The projects are more modern, and they use the readily available materials. “Vogue Knitting: The Learn To Knit Book” or “Knit How” are two good choices.

There are plenty of free online and video resources, too. The video lessons at knittinghelp.com are well presented, accurate and clear, while ModernDailyKnitting.com has articles, lessons, patterns and other goodies for knitters of all levels.

ADVERTISEMENT

To meet other knitters, check out the online classes, virtual knit-nights and other social gatherings hosted by a yarn shop in your area. Even if you can’t visit in person, their websites and social media will give you a sense of who they are and what they do.

In New York City, Knitty City and String Thing Studio are two shops that are striving to maintain and bolster knitting communities, even under this year’s necessary restrictions.

Felicia Eve, owner of String Thing Studio in Brooklyn, sells a standard kit for novices, and offers one-on-one appointments, both in-person and online, to teach the basics. She urges beginners to be soothed by knitting’s colors and textures, and to value its meditative nature, but also to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process.

“Cherish the wonkiness,” she said.

Want to pick up those needles and yarn?

More stories about knitting during lockdown

Knitting for the ApocalypseMay 8, 2020

In a Stressful Time, Knitting for Calm and ConnectionNov. 2, 2020

---

Managing Anxiety and Stress

Stay balanced in the face of stress and anxiety with our collection of tools and advice.

---

• First, bring calm and clarity into your life with these 10 tips.
• Next, identify what you are dealing with: Is it worry, anxiety or stress?
• Consider a mental health day. Here is how to make the most of them.
• Embrace these three Scandinavian secrets to resilience.
• Stress is unavoidable in modern life, but it doesn’t have to get you down. This guide can help you keep in check.
• As fall approaches, you might be feeling down and anxious. Here is how you can manage those end-of-summer feelings with grace.
• Can supplements help with depression or anxiety? Here’s what the evidence says about what works — and what doesn’t.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on WhatsApp
• Post on Twitter
• Mail

Newsletters you might like

DAILY

The Morning

Make sense of the day’s news and ideas. David Leonhardt and Times journalists guide you through what’s happening — and why it matters.Get this newsletter

AS NEEDED

Breaking News

Get informed as important news breaks around the world.Get this newsletter

WEEKDAYS

Coronavirus Briefing

An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment.Get this newsletter

More in Science

ImageCredit…Watcharapong HongjamrassilpWhen Sarcastic Fringeheads Open Their Mouths, Watch OutOct. 14, 2022

Why Some Penguins Give Up on Half of Their Unhatched EggsOct. 13, 2022

Secrets Preserved in the Skin of Dakota the ‘Dino Mummy’Oct. 13, 2022

ADVERTISEMENT

Site Information Navigation

• © 2022 NYTCo

• NYTCo
• Contact Us
• Accessibility
• Work with us
• Advertise
• T Brand Studio
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• California Notices
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• Subscriptions

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The black cat’s run, the birds unfold all day

I sit down here and with my totty pray

Ye cast o’ foolish thoughts, you raped my will

We’ve each enraged the bureaucratic mill.

Oh frigid purse, I never meant to pay!

The sky ‘s a-spark, the air is warm and shrill

The saturnine demoted knelled their way

With this feathered pounce, my sample quill,

I cite the cheque and date it for next May.

Oh, tit for cat, the tiger’s bed ‘s astray.

Yer life is settled by a harlot’s will

The sky ‘s a shark, the air is sharper still

Its horizontal fur like wire

The black cat runs, climbs fences

Dances on the roof of the shed

Hides in the forsythia branches, like a demented child

My hair cut that way I could pass for 23.

The cat runs up the seesaw, its teeth gleaming like an advert for Colgates’

Back up the seesaw, the little devil flashes green eyes like old marbles iced with frost

Now he wants some money he says.

He’s just a stand-up comedian nowadays.

Are you allowed to have four legs?

I don’t know what God would think

But does he even think?

The black cat laughs and I say would you like to borrow my hair dryer for a blow dry.

But you can’t blow dry wire!

I’ll write a sonnet it’s not hard, is it

The hardest thing is how to begin it.

Once you start, it’s hard to stop.

One sonnet might be, in fact, a crop.

I used to write five poems a day.

I seemed to know just what to say

Yet too much talking can disturb.

The gentle angels are perturbed

In Suffolk is an ancient church

Above the altar small birds perch

The angels hang down from the roof

The faces grave convey the truth.

I tried to write but did it work?

Wisdom dwells where angels lurk

Tension is who you think you should be.Relaxation is who you are.
Chinese proverb

Writing: The hobby that can rewire your brain and help you build resilience | The Independent https://share.google/GgL5rNgDAgvw6sODP

When I was young and almost here
I had a problem with my fear.
My mother’ d not known what to do
And I kept running to the loo
At last the doctor’s mind was clear
They sent me to a nuclear seer.

The man looked up, the man looked down
I’d never seen him in the town
He asked me if I had bad dreams
Or ruined my sleep with howls and screams
I never knew quite how to say:
The nuclear bomb might go astray.

They told us what to take inside
The nuclear shelter, where we’d hide
Tampax weren’t allowed as they
Might break our hymens on the way
So we had our bags of pads
As seeing our blood ‘d dismay the lads

We must lie down in the hedgerows
But not daydream or take a doze.
In our mill towns we’d no hedge
It was a metaphor I grudged.
Clutching bags of bloody cloths,
We would come out and see God’s wrath.

On the nuclear fires, we’d burn
The sanitary towels society spurned.
I hope before the bomb comes back
The Bishops will permit some slack
For Tampax are so small and neat
Our bin would have an odour sweet

We might be turned into grey ash
And our hymens all out-blast
We’d not enjoy sweet love and sex
Nor send our lovers teasing texts
So get together while you can
Before they drop that bloody bomb

What the hell,a villanelle!
It looks too hard for such as me
But I write well.as you can tell

I have a story.who knows Belle?
It’s from the English who love tea
\What a hell,oh villanelle

I saw a man with a sea shell
I asked him for a pod of pea
I write well.yeah super Nell

I often wonder if I smell
As I drink so much green tea
What’s s to tell ,my villanelle?

But worry makes life into hell
And it’s bad for those who see 

I write well,but who can tell

I must take much charity
If you ask, what is your fee?
What the hell oh villanelle
I write well but life is hell

In answer to your question I declare
That I must die seems totally bizarre
Yet since you ask which burial I prefer
Cremation seems to be the least unfair

I’d like to hear the sound of Joan of Arc
Jennifer and Leonard sing in parts
And as the Maiden burns up in the pyre
I shall be consumed by controlled fire

I’d like to be more useful while alive
I am not a husband nor a wife
But I might be a friend to those I love
And pray the sun will shine ,below, above

I think I made a Will,but why d’you ask?
Do you think you’ll benefit at last?
I plan to leave it all to Charity
One that gives old folk meringues for tea.

You never phone without your wise advice
About how housework should fulfil my life
But my mind is as good as yours, I find.
I keep it oiled and covered in red wine.

Joan of Arc will be my friend and saint
September Cohen will become my mate
He’ll sing a

n anthem while I sail away
And give me courage when it hurts to pray.

It’s time to laugh and cry over our lives
As to the young we dictate our archives
Though people rarely listen to the Word
At least we can assure God that we have tried

I wonder why you never rang before
And today I shall be nineteen ninety four
I will ring you when your birthday comes
To ask you if you’d like pickling well in rum.

We’re probably tired of trying to save money since brexit the pandemic the increased price of food etc

Sometimes it’s easy to save money for example if you go to a coffee shop every day for coffee which is about four pounds a cup now in London then you could save 120 pounds a month by giving up your habits

Should you do that?

It might be a mistake because it might be the only time you go out if you are not working in a paid job outside the home.

Maybe you could go to one of the local church halls where they frequently have coffee mornings. Unfortunately the coffee is not always very good and you maybe afraid that someone will try to convert you when all you want is some cheap coffee and maybe a chat with somebody.

At the moment with the free bus pass older f people don’t save any money by walking although it might be very beneficial to your health

When I was a child we had no bathroom so I’m sure that’s saved my mother and father lots of money

You could try only having hot water on alternate days of the week so that you save money on your electricity or gas bill.

You could eat cold food most of the time but that’s not very nice really is it especially for the elderly

Someone I know who’s about 86 years old every morning with our free bus pass and she goes  to o the charity shops. She always really interestingly dressed and she said it’s all second hand. She srays out most days until about 4 pm so that she doesn’t have to put her heating on but not many people are quite so fit and strong alto be out of the house for five or six hours in a day in the winter

Of course there’s always the public library that you can sit in and read the newspapers maybe or even read a book and you can use it a computers there as well so you wouldn’t need to heat your home if you went to library for the morning

The other point about all this is that what is regarded as normal now was once a luxury. Like having a shower every day. But if everybody does that you feel embarrassed if you can’t afford it I imagine I’m not sure because I’ve never taken to showers very much but it is very pleasant to have a bath whenever you feel like it.

I suppose we all have things that we regard as essential to our life and then there are other things that we might be willing to give up because they’re not so important

If you are very wealthy person and you’re going to move out of Britain because you’re afraid of paying more income tax then I would say go please go because we are a society. Everybody in the society has to contribute something towards it and clearly the very wealthy are more able to give money than the poor are.

Interestingly the poor give more to charity than the rich. Not such a surprise really is it?

The luxury of not being very poor is that you’re not constantly thinking about money and wondering if you can afford to have a cup of tea while you are out shopping. And that you can afford to have the food that you like

If you are good at shopping you will realize that one of the more expensive supermarkets in Britain has an essentials range which is very cheap

You’ve got to be fairly strong to tramp round several supermarkets trying to get the cheapest food.

So it’s a subject which is painful for many people. Is losing £200 a year winter fuel allowance is worrying you remember that the state pension went up 8% this year and it went up 10% last year which was about 900 pounds for the average pensioner and so losing 300 pounds in the year it’s not so bad compared with getting 900 pounds extra that year in your pension.

But there’s no doubt about it even when you are  not at rock bottom nobody likes to lose some money they’ve been getting and expecting to go on getting for several years

And we were going to be so much more wealthy after brexit weren’t we?

Well  Boris Johnson is much wealthier I think. But he’s done a lot of harm to this country in my view.

I wonder how big the eye of the needle will be for him?

I must remember to tell God that I use easy threading needles and to ask whether that will make it easier for me to get through the eye myself.

I know I’ve lost a lot of weightsk since I was in the hospital but even so getting myself through an easy threading needle will not be much fun

Some of the meals I was getting were very small such as the following

Butterbean stew which consisted of about two or three tablespoons of butter beans in a soup like sauce with the other onion tomato in it .

Save money on entertainment by having a book group in your house once a month also and visiting others for their book group

I have noticed that nobody ever start some mathematics group in their home in the evening

So that’s ruled out

You can save a lot of money by having a a digital subscription rather than buying a newspaper every day.

I think it will be less than half the cost and you can access lots of other articles on the website I’ll also sorts of different topics so it is really good for people who like newspapers and article was on a wealth of subjects

The telegraph is good if you love the royal family very very much but it’s also a little bit right wing

And the guardian is a little bit left wing

It’s good for those who don’t particularly like the royal family. And maybe with a slightly higher reading age. But it’s just been found guilty of being a little bit unfair to Israel in its news reportage. I’m not sure how that is judged