This weekend I realized something that I have known for a really long time in the back of my mind, but crystallized on Saturday.

My roller derby league had a bout this weekend (Tilted Thunder Rail Birds, if you’re in the Seattle area… you should come watch us play.  It’s pretty rad).  I was doing my usual pre-game running around with my team (running stairs, beating up a punching bag, listening to gangsta rap… you know, the usual).  But, when we finished our usual pre-bout ritual, we had an extra fifteen minutes before we had to go out and start playing.

We were all antsy and hyped up on adrenaline.  I was so anxious I could hardly sit still, much less think about the strategy we were about to execute.  So, I did what every good knitter would do.  I pulled out a half-finished sock and worked a few rows.

(My teammates-as usual- teased me about it.  But if it makes me a better skater, I think they should just shut their mouths.  So there.)

I do this before every game.  It helps me calm down, focus and take a deep breath before having to do something difficult or scary.  I even bring my knitting along when I go on job interviews.  I (obviously) don’t knit during a game or an interview, but knowing that it’s there is somehow comforting.

It’s like therapy, or mood stabilizing drugs, but fuzzier.  And you get a sock at the end.  I know I’m not the first (or the last) to discover the therapeutic uses of knitting, but still.  It’s definitely something that needs to be put in the list of “Reasons You Should Knit.”

When do you use knitting as therapy?