Knitter Stitching a Line to the Sea

Bellingham knitter and artist Christen Mattix says the idea to knit a stream to the sea came to her years ago and she toyed with it for a couple of years before it began to form in reality. She would sit on a bench with a view of the sea six blocks away, and since 2012 she’s been sitting on that same bench daily for at least an hour during her knitting season, which runs from May through November.

The strand runs across a street, so it’s length is hard to judge because it gets stretched and twisted by passing cars. It’s worked in a dark blue acrylic yarn that stands up to the wear and tear and is just the same color as the sea on its best days, Mattix says.

She says the project has brought her out of her shell because she talks to people about it as they see her knitting. It has also taught her patience and the fact that things take the amount of time they take. She says she’d like to make it all the way to the sea in another season, but it’s as much about the “process and poetry of it” as anything else.

What do you think about this project? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo via Whatcom Talk.]

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It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.

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