We all have heard this, often said jokingly at fiber festivals to justify the purchase of more yarn. Well, yarn - or more precisely what we create with our beautiful colored yarn - really does work like therapy. Hence this other knitticism: “I knit so that I don’t kill people.”

This comic was drawn by Donna Druchunas (https://sheeptoshawl.com/ ). Thank you for letting me use it.

People say this in jest, but there is truth in it. Knitting gives us joy and balance; it is much easier to sit and wait for two hours at the DMV if you are working on a pair of socks.

And if you DO need to kill somebody, a pair of steel knitting needles will do it nicely. They are handy to have around. Don't tell the NRA, but needles make a quieter kill than a rifle.

Knitting on the Train

Here is a true story from 2018, about a rail commuter in Germany. Mrs Weber knitted two rows every day on her way to work, and chronicled her travel frustrations in a creative way., She knitted with different colors to indicate the punctuality of her train: gray wool meant her train was less than five minutes late; for the next 25 minutes she knitted in pink ; then she switched to red to indicate 30 minutes late, or delays both ways. During the spring, she mostly knitted grey and pink. Then in summer her scarf turned red because of maintenance work on the rail tracks.

Going Viral

Mrs Weber posted her scarf on social media and the picture went viral. She eventually listed her scarf on ebay promising to donate proceeds to the Deutsche Bahnhofsmission, a German railroad charity that looks after travelers in need. In the last hours the auction price reached 3600 Euros ($4200) only for the final price to reach 7550 Euros ($8800) ! The German Railway Company never publicly admitted it, but it is generally believed that the railroad was the highest bidder.

Wins All Around

This story illustrates how powerful knitting can be: something we knitters know, but it is good to be reminded. First and foremost, Mrs Weber channelled her frustration into knitting while creating something beautiful. Secondly, she raised money for a worthy cause. Finally, the railroad was forced to analyze its chronic commuter train delays …… resulting in promises to improve service.

In my book that is a triple win! Mrs Weber’s scarf scored three goals – almost as good as the US Women’s Soccer team when they won the World Cup.