Another Bit of Comfort Knitting

I feel like a lot of the posts I’ve been writing lately have been for relatively easy, kind of meditative, knit it while you’re watching TV or when your brain is tired but you need to do something with you hands kinds of patterns.

I think that’s what everyone needs at the beginning of a new year. It’s certainly what I’m looking for. Thus all the sharing of patterns like that.

I love Benjamin Matthews’ patterns because a lot of them are like that. They’re pretty and fun to knit and he uses texture in interesting ways so they don’t look plain but they’re still generally pretty easy.

The Matchstick Shawl is one example. This triangular shawl combines garter stitch and slipped stitches to make an easy but luscious fabric (that Malabrigo yarn certainly doesn’t hurt, either). The result is probably more interesting than you think garter stitch can be, but it’s still an easy enough knit that you don’t have to pay it that much attention if you don’t want to.

And of course the beauty of triangles is you can make them any size you want, or work until you run out of yarn. And you don’t have to use worsted weight yarn because you can just work to the dimensions called for or the size you want, bearing in mind that you’ll need more yarn if you use a lighter weight or want to make the project bigger.

You can grab a copy of this shawl on Ravelry.

If you’re looking for more garter stitch projects, check out the Sandstone Scarf (an excellent beginner knitting project), as well as this roundup of easy garter stitch knitting projects. Garter stitch is great for any time of year but I especially love it at the beginning of the year when your brain just needs to relax!

[Photo: Benjamin Matthews]

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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