Guess It’s Time For You To Try Knitting

Last October I got into knitting and let me tell you, knitting is great. Just absolutely wonderful. It’s addictive, but hey, at least it’s not cigarettes and it’s definitely less expensive than other things I could get into, like cigarettes. I’m serious though, knitting is fantastic. It’s something I’ve always kinda sorta wanted to get into, but never did. Something that seemed timeless and fit that whole old soul young body grandma aesthetic that I’ve tried to replicate. Knitting is difficult though and frustrating and confusing but it’s great.

There are so many benefits of knitting that I didn’t even consider. It just seems like a good idea, a good introverted hobby where you get to make cool stuff like scarves and sweaters. But there’s so many great things about knitting beyond aesthetic or making cool things. The first thing I realized about knitting is that it is so fantastic for your mental health. If you’re someone like me who always needs to be doing something with their hands and can’t sit still or feels guilty for bingeing shows or whatever, knitting is fantastic for you. It’s a passive hobby where you’re just sitting on the couch or in your bed with your needles and your project. It doesn’t require your full attention. It keeps you busy without exerting too much energy. It’s mentally stimulating. It’s relaxing. It makes you feel productive because you are being productive in a way that doesn’t require a lot of effort. Knitting is also great for depression, especially if you get seasonal depression. That’s why I decided to start knitting when I did because I knew once the temperatures dropped and I couldn’t leave the blankets on my couch without shivering that my restlessness would turn into emotional lowness and having something to do while shut in has been incredible.

I’ve made four scarves and a pair of fingerless gloves. I’ve bought so much yarn and I have regular needles and double pointed needles so if I want to do two projects at once I can. It usually takes me a month to complete a project. There’s an endless amount of stitches to learn and projects to make that it’s a hobby that is incredibly cheap and easy to get into. There are plenty of videos on Youtube that explain basic things like casting on which is how you get the yarn onto the needle, and basic stitches and basic projects.

Working on a project in public is really interesting because sometimes people who also knit will ask you about your project and what you are making and who is it for. People are also able to tell if your scarf is homemade. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on scarves I’ve made even though I know they are a little messy, I still feel a sense of pride because I’ve made them. What’s even better than that is making things for other people and seeing others be happy by the thing you’ve spent time and effort creating with your own hands. I’ve made two scarves for friends, one a scarf based on the colors of their favorite sports team and another the colors of the flag that represents their sexual orientation and both were equally excited about receiving the scarf that symbolizes things that make them happy. There are also projects that have a practical value too. The scarves I’ve made have kept me warm this winter as well as the gloves, but there are projects for pillowcases, potholders, coin purses, socks. Really, you can knit anything because technically, when you knit, you’re making a textile. If something requires fabric, you could probably knit it. I would definitely recommend trying it. It’s not an expensive hobby to get into. All you need is a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn. And if you have a pet cat, you are legally required to learn how to knit because it is absolutely true that cats attack balls of yarn. I’ve witnessed this first hand.

What the Heck is Belegarth?

Hello all, so I remember a bit ago I wrote that I am a part of this sport called Belegarth and maybe some of you are curious what in the world is “Belgrath.” And then I’m like,”No, it’s Bel.e.garth,” and you’re like,”Who cares, nerd.”

Belegarth is a full-contact sport where people dress in medieval, Renaissance or fantasy inspired clothing and fight each other with foam padded weapons. The sport has been around since 1979, so no, it’s not some weird shit Millennials have created to make themselves feel special, (not that it fucking matters.) The sport at large has, in a way, became its own martial art with various fighting styles and techniques. Also totally a sport. I will fight you over this. No really. Pick up a sword. It’s not really LARP per say, because there is little to no roleplaying on the combat level. If you want to dress in interesting garb that fits a class or a race, cool. If you want to create lore for your persona, cool. You do you mate. None of this is required except for having a fighting name and wearing garb at national events. I’ll go into specifics on other posts because there is so much to this sport and world.

The rules are relatively simple and if you like fast-paced full contact fighting and not really realizing how many calories you’re burning, it’s pretty fricken great.

People who fight in the sport attend local practices with practice groups called “realms.” Realms will have a specific practice day, time and location where people can come together and work on tactics and techniques. Every group has a realm leader who is in charge of hosting practices as well as run any boring administrative work that the realm might need to figure out. Realms usually have some sort of Facebook page or group where you can reach out and say, “Hey wow, this sounds totally dope! I wanna try it!” You can also reach out to them if you’re interested in filming or interviewing because the sport is Damn cool and makes a good story anyway.

As I said before, the rules are simple enough. For now, I’ll just mention the basic rules, but I might touch on more detailed shit in a later post. When you first attend a practice, they’ll have you fight with a single sword that we call a single blue weapon. I’ll get into weapon types and classes later because there’s a lot.

You will “spar” with one other person and if you don’t know what sparring is, it’s just one on one fighting. The object of the game is to kill your opponent. When you are striking at your opponent, you want to target either the arms, the legs, or the torso which can make up anywhere, front and back, from below the neck to the tops of the thighs. If you hit two limbs, you’re opponent is “dead.” If you hit anywhere on their torso, they are dead. Your opponent is targeting the same places, as well, so it is important to block their hits.

The rules don’t get too complicated from there. If you get hit in the leg, you must go down on one of your knees to indicate that you have been “legged.” If you get hit in the arm, you have to fight with your other arm and put your “dead arm” behind your back. That’s basically the gist of basic combat. Things get a little more complicated when you factor in shields, weapons that can pierce limbs, armor, projectile weapons and all of those fun things.

If you’re interested in attending a practice, definitely reach out to a local group. Belegarth has it’s own website, which you can visit here. Most college campuses in the Midwest have realms and there are plenty in the west and northeast. There are also a few outside of the U.S. including Canada, Germany, and the U.K. If there isn’t one near you, then either make a realm or try to attend a national event that’s not too far.

You can watch some cool videos here and here.

I will post more about this sport and will get into specifics about weapons, who I am in Belegarth, what it has meant to me, what belegarth in the city is like, and some other related posts. But yeah, those are just the basics. If anyone has any questions, I’ll take note and write a post specifically about it if it’s a large enough topic.