WISDOM

Milly Kelly reveals how knitting brings her happiness and pride on her darkest days.

person smile. When my colleagues realised I had made my jumper, their praise made me feel as though I’d done something not everyone has the patience or inclination to do, that I’d accomplished something quite special.

GORGEOUS GIFTS

Of course, wearing something you have made is a very lovely feeling, but seeing someone you love wearing something you’ve made also brings with it a great sense of joy and accomplishment. My nephew turned *$i#%$#,>Þ#>$`#Ì&i#Ì&i'i#v*À#&%Ã#wÀÃÌ# birthday party was rainbows. I decided to knit him a rainbow-themed present. !#&>`#$*#(ÕV-#%$#w$`%$}#>$Þ#«>ÌÌiÀ$Ã# for little ones that included rainbows so I had to make one up. I bought a simple pattern for a vest and a simple pattern for a rainbow and merged the two together. I was considering myself relatively adept at intarsia – still learning but getting there – until I started knitting a rainbow. It took me v*ÕÀ#Ì%'iÃ#Ì*#}iÌ#Ì&i#y*>ÌÃ#À%}&Ì#>$`#!# ended up with several smaller balls of yarn getting tangled in a most irritating fashion! The end product is a wee bit on the lumpy side but there is a lot of love knitted into those stitches (and a little bit of swearing as well!).

A RATHER LOVELY MAY

/&iÀi#%Ã#$*#μÕ%V-.wÝ#VÕÀi#v*À#'i$Ì>(# illness – being OK is a daily practice. For me, having something to work towards helps keep the darker days at bay, or at least makes them a little brighter when they come, and the feelings I experience on the rare but Li>ÕÌ%vÕ(#*VV>Ã%*$Ã#Ì&>Ì#!#w$%Ã&#># project, can keep me in the light for at least a fortnight. May turned out to be a rather lovely month!

Look out for more of Amy’s knitting adventures in future issues and tell us about how knitting helps you. Find our contact details on page 41.