Lately, I’ve turned to knitting when I’m particularly knotted up in my writing. When I’m knitting, I’m working to create something from the raw materials I am given, and I find that act of construction to be incredibly satisfying. I like how this activity keeps my hands and mind busy. I like the feel of the needles and the movement of the yarn as I twist and tuck it into itself. I like the rhythm you can get into while knitting, how once you get going and muscle memory kicks in you can knit for hours without thinking too hard about what you are doing. And I like that sometimes I don’t entirely understand how I’m twisting the yarn, but I do it anyway to see what I can produce. Last summer I knit dozens of gnomes (from this pattern) through trial and error. What if I tried different colors? What if I tried a chunkier yarn weight? What if I tried to make a gnome that looked like Domo—the brown, furry monster with a wide-open mouth? Knitting has helped me experiment with being creative and has helped me figure out new ways through challenges. After each knit I think about what I learned and what I could have done better. Then, I try again, sometimes with the same pattern, yarn, or technique. In doing so I’m discovering this whole world of ways to express myself, a world that has greatly influenced my writing.
—Bronson Lemer, author of The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship
(University of Wisconsin Press, 2025)
Photo credit: Jonathan Conklin Photography