13/07/2026
Knitting was something my Nana taught me when I was around 8years old, I enjoyed it and still remember us knitting together. I tried to pick it up again in my teens but I couldn’t get the hang of it again. When I was in my 20s she taught me again how to knit again, I haven’t stopped knitting since then.
Knitting became more than just needles and yarn and doing a hobby I enjoyed. It became a creative outlet, a way to keep my hands busy and therapeutic.
When life was heavy and anxiety was bad I’d knit away creating. I learnt to knit continental for fun, it was tricky and challenging but I enjoyed it. While I learnt to knit this way, I went back to how I’d always knitted.
Then chronic illness life hit hard and things changed so rapidly. In just 3 months I was diagnosed with 4 chronic illnesses It was a year after I started CWCK and I lost my caregiving job I loved a few months later.
The days seemed so long and my symptoms were overwhelming so I picked up my knitting needles while laying down and created. Some days knitting was the only thing I could do and I felt like I was accomplishing something during the hardest seasons of my life and all the uncertainty of it all.
Then there were days when I couldn’t concentrate enough to knit, when I’d just hold my knitting project in my hands just to feel the stitches or squish the ball of yarn to feel it in my hands. The hospital stays where I’d knit away, that became a talking point among drs, nurses etc. I’d knit on the way to and from appointments and during some of my appointments as well to help with my C-PTSD.
Knitting was a place where I found beauty in the survival and daily battles, and along the way knitting became more therapeutic than it had originally been and a way of coping.
Then the sharp, burning and aching shoulder pain hit hard and knitting just aggravated it. I gave it time by resting, stretching etc it didn’t work and the pain stayed oh and knitting still aggravated it. I was tired of not knitting so started knitting continental, it was slow and challenging as I learnt to knit wrapping the yarn around the needle with my left hand instead of right hand. Once I got the hang of it I was away again and it became my way of knitting for the last 7years.
Now I have limited use of my hand and arm due to FND (functional neurological disorder), along the way I tried rest, stretching, regular breaks but things went downhill fast and worsened. My grip is very weak and it’s hard to hold anything in my right hand. Knitting looks different again. Knitting in small bursts and slower than before for now. A needle held in a fist on a good day, on an okay day the neddle tucked under my armpit with a grip to help hold the needle. Neither of which I can do for long but I’m making progress one stitch at a time, one row at a time I’ll get there again and in the meantime knitting is slow and intentional in small bursts of time but most importantly I’m knitting.
I see your light, your struggle and fight not just with things your going through but the battle to keep doing your hobbies and the things you enjoy. You are more than enough and you are appreciated.
Faith, peace and love,
Arjaye-Rose aka Forest Fern
Autumn Queen of the Autumn Court
🌲🌿🍄👑🍂🧶🌻🪶🐈⬛📚
Start of image description, image 1 of 3. a tan background with cream lace inside is a photo of Arjaye-Rose smiling sitting in the garden, she is wearing a cream floral dress, green and brown headscarf. She is knitting one handed with the left needle in her hand and the other tucked under her arm. End of image 1 of 3 and start of image 2 of 3. A tan background with lace in two of the corners. On a wooden table is a basket with pine needles around the top of the basket. In the basket is red, green, turquoise and brown yarn along with pinecones. End of image 2 of 3 and start of image 3 of 3. A tan background with lace in two corners. In the middle is a photo of Arjaye-Rose’s left hand holding double pointed needles. She is knitting scrunchie. End of image 3 of 3 and end of image descriptions.
