Adventure Knitting

How to occupy your head, heart and hands while sidling away from social media.

When you want to give up one stubborn addiction, they say one way to do it is to replace it with a healthier habit. And I reluctantly admit I had an addiction to embibing on Instagram reels.

Knitting the first few rounds of a beanie for my husband on the Merri Creek Trail, Melbourne.

You know what? You literally can’t pick up your phone when both hands are busy knitting.

Additionally, you can’t scroll when both hands are gripping your handlebars or your thumbs are looped into your hiking pack straps. Or when you're so deep into the wild that you are out of range, that really hobbles the internet addictions, too.

I’ve found much joy in my new addiction to knitting lately, so much so that I take my projects everywhere (everywhere!) with me. Including throwing it in my backpack for all the rides and walks we did in the Snowy Mountains and the Victorian High Country in April this year.

I call this ‘Adventure Knitting’*, and I’ve made a list of tips that I’ve learned so far on how to get knitting in the wild towards the end of this newsletter.

Some Snowy Mountain gravel riding shenanigans.

Adventure Knitting at our lunch spot on a gravel riding day in the Snowy Mountains, NSW.

Last November, I went cold turkey and deleted the Instagram app unceremoniously from my phone, with a dire need for a rot-free summer. It’s now deep into autumn, and still I’m disinclined to jump back in.

The timing also aligned with me wrapping up my freelance work and workshops for the year, thus reducing my need to be there to promote anything.

Getting a few more rounds in on top of the world - Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain on mainland Australia.

I haven’t booked any new freelance work this year because my time is being soaked up by a full-time contract I’ve just kicked off at my local library (a whole story for another day), so I still don’t have anything to promo.

But I still feel I have things to say and contribute to the collective narrative of our time. It’s just that I don’t want to wrestle with the intentionally addictive nature of Instagram to do so.

Eating an apple and starting a new beanie for my son on and in the Ovens River, Victoria.

So here I am on Substack again after a year away. I had to have a big ol’ break from making long-form content while I focused on wrapping up my freelance life after burning out, while simultaneously learning the ropes for my new job at the library.

It’s been a busy time for my brain, but I’m so happy to be back here writing for you, and new subscribers that I’ve noticed trickle in over the past year. Welcome! It’s so lovely to have you here.

A super-friendly gang-gang cockatoo who kept me company while I knitted in the campsite one day in Bright, Victoria.

I reckon knitting is one of the few hobbies that is lightweight and portable enough to take into the wild. Here’s what I’ve learned about Adventure Knitting so far:

• Take a small project, or the beginnings of a larger one. It’s so lightweight.

• Bring minimum tools to keep the weight down as well.

• I recommend wooden circular needles or stoppers to hold your project on over the bumpy trails. I definitely don’t recommend double-pointed metal needles - so slippery. What a nightmare.

• Bring something to sit on, like a foam mat, to make your experience comfy.

• If it’s chilly - fingerless gloves, of course.

• When you stop for lunch or a snack, stay a little longer to knit a round or two.

I think the benefits of combining your hobby with a forey into nature are innumerable. I found myself lingering longer, slowing down, and spending more time soaking in the location and the views.

Being in nature and doing a repetitive task that connects your brain to your hands are two things that science says are great for nervous system regulation, plus you get a bit more of your project done - so many wins.

Also, you are adding to the story of your project. It’s so fun to say part of your beanie was knitted on top of Australia’s highest mountain.

Some more stitches on the Spirit of Tasmania. Photo by my son, an aspiring photographer.

My very talented Swiss friend Jo taught me to knit continental late last year, and then with a lot of help from YouTube, I was away!

Once I got the hang of it, I’ve found knitting stockinette round after round comforting in these turbulent times. There’s something about the repetition and the rewarding nature of making something functional with hundreds of small steps that does good things for my brain.

So far, I’ve knitted a scarf, a jumper (I know, an optimistic 2nd project! But it turned out great - see it in the photo above), and 1 and a half beanies.

One of the many fabulously well-maintained alpine huts in the Snowy Mountains.

I hope you are faring well in these times and have found meaningful things to do with your head, heart, and hands.

I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to lately in the comments.

Sketchbooking is another lightweight portable ‘adventure hobby’ that I partake in occasionally, too. Can recommend.

Thanks so much for being here. I hope to write again soon.

Yours in Adventure Hobbying!

Nat

*I’m sure I’m not the first to use the term Adventure Knitting, and I’ve been busy bandying it around, trying to bring it into the vernacular of my local knitting mates, and you, too, now.