Is knitting socks good for the brain?

Have you ever knitted socks? If so, was it difficult to complete your first pair? When I started knitting mine I had no idea about how to use double pointed needles and had never knitted anything more complicated than a dishcloth in recent years. I have vague memories of knitting when I was a teenager but that is a long, long time ago. So I was very relieved today to actually finish my first pair of socks even though there were a few mistakes along the way but the instructions I followed said that that was probably par for the course.

As this was something totally new to me I really had to concentrate on what I was doing and found it a little disconcerting to realise that my concentration span is not very long at all anymore and if I let my mind wander when knitting I would do a couple of rows and then not know where I was up to.There have been a number of articles I have come across including Four Unexpected Health Benefits of Knitting which state that brain chemistry can be changed by the rhythmic motion of knitting so that serotonin and dopamine, the good mood hormones, are released and the bad stress hormones decrease. Well, I am not too sure about that as there were plenty of bad stress hormones flying around when I discovered a whole row of stitches had come off my needles at one stage. 

I imagine that with time and practice it will become less stressful and good for one's brain especially as we age and I am sure the fact that one has to concentrate so intently would have to have some benefits where the old grey matter is concerned :-)

This morning was again foggy and drizzly after some light overnight rain so I pulled on the gum boots and took a walk around the garden checking for snails and saw the birds all huddled up in the trees. This is a coloured photo by the way...not black and white...so you can see how dismal it was. 

Eventually the sun came out and it turned out to be a lovely day and I took a shot of our mandarin tree. The fruit is still quite small and not ready to eat as yet. Last year I made some Mandarin Curd and Mandarin and Date Slice but I will have to try and find some sugar free recipes this year to use up some of our fruit. I usually take some to our Simple Living Toowoomba swaps as well.
 

I have been keeping an eye on this Bromeliad flower as it opens up as they can be quite fascinating...

...almost there...

...and open at last! Isn't it colourful?

I will now put away my double pointed knitting needles for a little while and concentrate on some projects that are less demanding before tackling the very thin 'proper' sock wool and the very tiny needles that are required. I have a feeling there will be some more bad stress hormones floating around when that day comes. LOL! Do reassure me and tell me that I am not the only person in the world who found that knitting their first pair of socks was stressful :-)