[Image]a couple of weeks ago, i spotted an event on instagram - it was a walk and knit nature walk. so i asked a friend if she wanted to go. i knew it was out in the area where she had grown up, so i thought she would enjoy it.[Image]i was thinking that i'm no good at knitting, let alone walking and knitting, but the idea of a nature walk out on the moors with the sheep sounded good to me.[Image]we were asked to bring size 5 knitting needles and they gave us a little ball of handspun yarn and a handful of wool.[Image]
but in case it wasn't enough, they had left bits of wool along the way. it took me awhile to realize this. at first, i thought it was just because the sheep had been out there or that the others had dropped some of their wool.
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my friend emmy came with me and i'm glad she did. the rest of the group knew one another well and in that way that such groups can have, they weren't super inclusive. i would have been sad about it had emmy not been there. 
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one of the women on the walk knew what all the plants were - i, of course, despite loving gardening, am not a plant rememberer and so i don't really remember any of them, but the noticing was what it was about for me. that and trying to knit some of them into my piece.
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we sat down on the moors and just enjoyed the surroundings. but honestly, walking and knitting at the same time was so much easier than i imagined that it would be. i'm not a knitter, but i found it easier and less stressful than sitting at home and trying to knit. isn't that kind of weird?
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it was a bit difficult to keep the flowers attached, but somehow, it didn't really matter. it was about being in the moment and just knitting on. 
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some of the people had knives with them and while we sat here, they whittled some new knitting needles for themselves (see below). i didn't, but the idea of doing so was somehow so freeing. it made knitting so much less stressful - it was ok to just be free, experiment, drop a stitch or two and just keep going. 
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my inner weaver would maybe rather have been weaving and i did weave in some of the plants, more than knitting with them. that was totally ok. and so freeing! 
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i was even able to knit much more loosely. one of my main problems in knitting is a tendency to knit really tight, which makes it even harder to knit the next row. but i was able to relax and loosen things up. 
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it wasn't until we found some blue-dyed bits of wool, that i realized that they had been out, leaving the wool out for us. those blue bits really spoke to me. the wool was generally untreated and so full of lanolin and so interesting to work with.
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we were out there for more than three hours. it was like time stood still and it felt like exactly the amount of time that was needed.
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emmy was faster than me, but she actually knows how to knit. we had such a fun day!
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i don't remember what these were called, but they're a kind of wild blueberry.
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when we got back, we all put our work out on the table together and took some pictures. everyone was so creative. we had the same materials at our disposal and came up with such different pieces.
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one of the others either found this hole(y) stone, or had it in her pocket. i'll admit, i was a little jealous.
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look at those handmade knitting needles! so lovely! and so freeing!
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a close-up, though i think she made this one on a previous walk.
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we also had cake when we got back. and it's strawberry season, so fresh strawberries too!
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here's everyone's work! mine is in the middle with the purple flowers.
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and here's one last view of my piece. if they hold another event, i've already invited another friend along. i think it might have made a knitter of me. and another reflection i have is that i would have been hurt by the group's insider-y behavior if i hadn't taken a friend along. but i consciously kept an open mind and decided to be in the moment and so it didn't end up triggering my sensitivity to not belonging. but it helped to have a friend along. i'm going to be sure to do that the next time too. also, they didn't call it "walk and wool," but they should have.