Though plain objects may be just as useful, we feel a hunger for beauty, for form as well as function. Any piece of knitting, no matter how humble, requires the application of practical mathematics. There is a spiritual component to knitting as well, which helps explain why knitting, and handicrafts in general, have managed to retain their popularity through all the eras of human history. Our spirit rises to the challenge of artistic creation, to flights of invention and ingenuity. One of the most vaunted benefits of spiritual practice is that it lowers blood pressure and preserves us from the debilitating health consequences of stress.
Handicrafts mimic the physiological effects of meditation.
Knitting is a necessity for many people's peace of mind. The quiet time they sit and knit may be their only opportunity for contemplation and reflection. In knitting, as in meditation, there is space and time to cultivate the inner life. In my last few years of intensive knitting, I have begun to wonder if female spirituality through the ages may not have been hidden in the minutiae of domestic life, rather than expressed in churches and sermons. I began to work toward the achievement of technical proficiency in hopes of turning myself into a master knitter.