Mantra Knitting

The first post of a new blog offers the same anxiety as any other blank page. The possibilities seem endless, and the choice of each word feels like a commitment to an unknown reader, a statement of who I am and what I intend for this blog to be.

The truth is, like many, I struggle to be bold in such a proclamation. Time (and an abundance of forgotten hobbies) has taught me to be cautious when defining myself or anything that I choose to try as a path. I’m exploring, and this blog will reveal that, even if I don’t know how to say it with the first post…or the ones that follow.

I am on a path of understanding myself and, in reality, the world around me. My only commitment today is to document my knitting practice, which has evolved over the last two decades into an act of mindfulness and a key contributor to my own mental health and wellbeing.

This blog will likely cover projects, in their various states, and my personal reflections as I use knitting as an anchor for meditation and self-discovery. I call this process Mantra Knitting, which I define as a meditative approach to simple knitting, and perhaps, simple joy.

Mantra Knitting looks like praying with a rosary. Each stitch represents a thought, a wish, a manifestation. Each motion represents the energy that I infuse into that stitch, and therefore what the stitch represents to my heart.

This meditation-in-motion practice of knitting requires intention. So, for my first blog post of Mantra Knitting, I choose simply to knit from the heart and share the details of my knitting life.

I suppose there’s no time like the present. So, let’s chat about my current project, shall we? I’ve recently been focused on knitting projects for myself. In past years, my knitting often took the shape of small house projects or gifts. Now, I’ve started to knit for my closet, which is a bit of a surprise since I’ve often avoided any knitting that required shaping or counting. What I’ve learned as I knit more for my own enjoyment is that I often reflect on my goals and how I’m doing. I send myself positive energy as the yarn flows through my fingertips, which feels like a much bigger gift than the finished project.

I’m currently working on the Jasmine V-neck Tee in Knitting Light by Marie Greene. The pattern is bottom up and requires the piece to be separated to work each side of the v-neck and the back, which does equate to back-and-forth knitting/purling to keep the stockinette stitch pattern (instead of knitting in the round). Circular knitting is my happy place, but this project was easy to settle into.

Project Details

1. Based on Project Suitability; The same materials may fare better in other patterns. Use the blog tags to see other times I’ve used these materials. (Note: This blog started July 2025. I hope the list of materials grows over time!). ↩︎

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I hope that this particular project is off the needles by my next post. And, if it is, you’ll see my final rating for the materials I’ve used in this project. I’ll also add notes for any extra materials needed for finishing. So, until then!