so I was surfing through the Ravelry site today looking at knitting patterns. As I was reading the descriptions of the gorgeous lace shawls featured in that section I noticed quite a few of the pattern names refer to rich, famous, beautiful and/or powerful women such as Nefretiti, Persephone, Cleites, and Boudica. I wonder if knitters subconsciously believe they can acquire a bit of the magic those women had by spending hours in the deep knitting concentration required to produce the delicate lace patterns. This reminds me of some cultures that believed you could acquire some of the power of the animal or enemy by eating them (i.e eating the heart of the buffalo for bravery).
Since I am knitting a sweater named the "Can Can", I guess I am secretly hoping to gain a magical ability to dance on stage in a Vaudeville show with a big puffy skirt :). I just finished the front, so far I haven't spontaneously broken out into song and dance, but I'll keep you posted.