This is Orlando the Marmalade Cat II, also known as Brolando, Lando
Before I paused to take the picture, my daughter came in and exclaimed, “AWWWW!! you are so cozy!” Yes, very. A lot has been said about the mentally restorative powers of yarn arts and pet ownership, some very serious scientists have researched these avenues to healing and found very positive results.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/dogs-and-health-a-lower-risk-for-heart-disease-related-death-2018061114020
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/98432.php
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4248608/
http://anxietyresourcecenter.org/2017/10/crochet-helps-brain/
https://www.headspace.com/blog/2016/12/11/meditating-with-ptsd/
Every pet owner can corroborate the peace that the unconditional love our pets give us. But those of us who work with yarn frequently, know this ‘mindfulness’ that they speak of. We have known it since the very first time we hit ‘the zone’. Making stitch after stitch, focused only on the rhythm of the pattern, mind completely focused on the flow and rhythm of the project in hand. This mindfulness of yarn work allows one to let go of other worries, if only for a little while. But it’s a break our minds need.
Then the phone rings or the baby cries or a car horn honks and we are shaken out of our peaceful state. I remember the first time it happened, my youngest was a toddler and I’d been learning crochet for maybe three or four months. I know I was doing ordinary rows of double crochet, focused on creating a square and not a trapezoid. She woke from her nap peacefully, I could hear her talking to the air the way toddlers do. I started to put the project away and had to do a double take. Not only were my edges beautifully even and square, but I had crocheted for almost two linear feet, it was half a baby blanket! I looked at the clock, an hour and a half had passed in complete peace. I remember thinking “ah, this is ‘the zone’ they talk about”. I know this zone of mental peace can be achieved via other methods, like running, but you can’t run with a cat on your lap. And there’s all the sweating.
That’s the yarn side of it, but there is more to being cozy than just working on something peacefully. The Danish have known this for a long time, their word is one that has probably entered your realm in the last year or so: hygge.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-year-of-hygge-the-danish-obsession-with-getting-cozy
This was definitely a hygge moment for me. What you don’t see in the picture is my husband to my right, reading, and a mug of hot tea to my left. All I was missing was some chocolate. It was an ‘extra frosting on top’ type of night in that I finished the shawl. So satisfying. I slept well.
So, the next time you sit down to do a few rows, don’t just grab the yarn and plop in your favorite chair, get cozy. Make the tea, grab a blanket, call the dog over. Not only will it instill guilt in anyone attempting to disturb you, your existential being will be better for the deeper mindfulness you achieve in the time given. And the project at hand will turn out beautifully.
