Color Therapy thru Knitting: Magenta this time

Having done my GREEN mug rug, I had to balance its energy, which is about loving others, with MAGENTA, which is about loving myself. After all, one cannot truly love others without loving oneself first.

When I guide others in color meditation, I always balance the colors since making the client focus only on one color would of course lead to imbalance.

I actually finished the MAGENTA mug rug last night, but I still need to weave in ends and take pics. I had to adjust the number of rows to make it match the size of the green rug.

Here's a pic of the magenta WIP on my circulars:



And a nice shot of the green and magenta (WIP) mug rugs...



This is such an unexpectedly nice color combination. In terms of color theory, they were supposed to match, being opposite each other in the color wheel :-)

So how do I feel, now that I've knitted green and magenta? I do feel better. No more crying bouts for more than 24 hours, I think I have my appetite back and generally, I am in a better space compared to last week :-)

I have always been resilient, and I have more to write about my reflections in my other blog.

Green mug rug, FO

Green mug rug FO
Originally uploaded by Dreaming Knitter

Finished this last weekend, and now I'm doing the magenta version, to balance the green energy of this mug rug. Pics to follow :-)

Update: Green mug rug after 10 more rows

I usually knit before I go to bed at night and soon after waking in the morning. It helps to relax me, and to ground my energy, since I view knitting as a form of active meditation.

Anyway, so last night after taking pics of the first three rows of my green mug rug, I went on to knit 6 more rows before calling it a night.

This morning (actually, around noon), I was able to knit some rows. My row counter is a major motivating factor, since I look forward to clicking it once I finish a row...it's such a tangible proof that I've accomplished something! I know, it's such a simple (babaw as we call it here, or "shallow") joy, but I still like it... :-)



I reached Row 13, where I was able to switch from dpns to my bamboo circulars that's got a length of sweet 16 inches. It nicely lays out the mug rug flat...here's a pic with the freed dpns, and the safety pin is my stitch marker, to know where a round begins.



And here's an up-close shot of the mug rug... I might still tweak the design later, or switch to US Size 5 needles for a looser knit.

Healing my heart: knitting with color therapy

Just started tonight, a round mug rug with my bamboo dpns, US size 4, using two strands of crochet thread in a very nice apple green shade... cool to the eyes yet warm to the heart, since green is the color of the heart chakra and has a balancing, healing effect.

And that is why i purposely chose to knit green tonight. I'm hoping to make a complete set of the 7 rainbow colors plus magenta, the color that shows up when you combine red and violet. These 8 colors comprise the basic color wheel.

As you see above, I've already got three rows, according to my very useful row counter. I used to just note down the row number I'm working on, but the notes have a way of disappearing on my messy workstation... the row counter is supposed to be worn like a pendant, but in our hot summer days, who'll want anything strung around the neck?

Here's another pic to show the two balls of mercerized cotton I'm using:



Not everyone likes to knit with dpns, but I do. Maybe it's because I have small fingers (small compared to my size!) and I don't mind working with 4 to 5 dpns.

Eventually I'll switch to my 16-inch long circulars, which are just perfect to get the 4-5 inch circumference.



And one last final group shot... the pattern is something I found from "Knitting for the Home" by Rita Weiss, and it's really a pattern for a round floor rug, I'm just adapting it for a smaller mug rug :-) basically it's a seed stitch pattern with increases after so many rows.



To balance the green effect, the next mug rug I'll work on is its complementary color, magenta. Then, let's see which color I'm gonna feel like doing next.

This is a combination of process and project knitting :-) I'm into the process but it must have an end, not just the means.

I am so glad I'm doing knitting for color therapy. If I need more green energy, I'm gonna make a triangular shawl next in my dark green and olive green tencel :-)