Book Review – Create Mindfully with Projects from Sereknity

Mindful knitting and crochet are buzzwords for a reason. A lot of us create with yarn in order to relax, to make things from the heart to share with family and friends (and to use ourselves) and to give ourselves comfort at the same time.

Fiber artist Nikki Van De Car explores mindful creativity in knitting and crochet with the 27 projects in her book Sereknity: Peaceful Projects to Soothe and Inspire.

Many of the projects are named for yoga poses and charkral centers of the body, but if you’re not into that the book isn’t really woo-woo. It’s more about creating simple but not boring projects that are in themselves meditative and that bring comfort and a sense of peace while creating them and when you wear, use or gift them.

Half of the projects (14, to be precise) are crocheted, while the rest are knit, but none require a lot of experience or skill. Some techniques are described in the book but there are no photos or tutorials for different stitches, so if there are things here you don’t know how to do but would like to, head to the Internet for a tutorial.

I actually like a lot of the crocheted pieces — a triangular scarf, a pretty openwork cowl, a market bag and the flowers on the front cover are all on my to-make list — but there are some great knitting projects, too, including a super-simple rectangular Stockinette scarf worked in two colorways of self-striping yarn for extra fun, a slouchy Fisherman’s Rib hat, a top-down cardigan that’s still a really easy piece, and a pretty cushion for meditation. Check out the projects on Ravelry.

There are lots of great projects here for knitters and crocheters of all skill levels who want to slow it down, take it easy and be more mindful in their stitching. The only complaint I have is that I wish there were more pictures, because some of the pieces are hard to see or the photos are a little dark in the book (for example, the Rustica shawl is only shown from the side, draped over a shoulder, so you get no real sense of the size or shape of it).

If you’d like to get your hands on a copy, Stefanie is giving hers away right now. (Through June 1.) I think I’ll be hanging on to my copy for a while.

About the book: 120 pages, paperback, 27 patterns (13 knitting patterns). Published April 11, 2007, by Running Press, retail price $15.99.

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for Yarn online? Check out Lionbrand our preferred source for purchasing yarn online.

For the past few years I’ve taken part in a Christmas in July blog hop that encourages people to get a jump on their making for holiday gifts.

I love to use yarn I already have for these projects in the hope that people will consider what they already have that they can use to make projects for themselves or to give as gifts.

This year it was a couple of knit baskets made using partial balls of yarn left in my stash from other projects.

They use the same basic pattern but the first one is made with two colors of bulky yarn, and the second used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, which made the gauge about the same, but I cast on fewer stitches to make a smaller version.

The bottom of the basket is square, though you can make them rectangular if you’d rather. Then I just knit up the sides in rounds until I was about to run out of yarn. This gave both baskets rather short sides — maybe more like a tray than a basket — but you can keep knitting as long as you like to make the sides of your basket as tall as you want.

They’re worked in seed stitch, which keeps the edges from curling and adds a nice texture to the baskets.

Of course this also allows you to use even more odd balls from your stash. I’d love to make a big one someday combining lots of different yarn. I mean, I’d probably use it to store more yarn, but that’s a fine thing to do.

As it is, these little trays are great for sitting on your desk or bedside table to hold little things that always seem to appear there. I like to use one to hold the supplies for whatever project I’m working on, things like little scissors, my tape measure, a crochet hook, etc.

And they would make good gifts on their own or as a container to hold some other goodies if you like.

You can find the free pattern for these stash busting baskets over at Our Daily Craft.

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