Great Life Lessons from Knitting

Because it’s Thanksgiving in America, it makes sense to take a moment to reflect on why knitting is so important in our lives. For me, knitting is part of my career, of course, but I would still love to knit even if no one paid me for it. It is a calming influence in my life (most of the time), allows me to warm my child and other people with the work of my hands, is a way to be creative and is just fun.

After the recent Knitter’s Review retreat, where the gathered knitters had amassed a collective 1,000+ years of knitting experience, Clara Parkes compiled a list of 10 life lessons for knitters.

From “always buy the best yarn you can afford” to “good knitting needs to be worn and enjoyed,” these lessons are true and sweet and bear repeating over and over.

My favorite?

If you ever find yourself saying, “I’m too stressed out to knit,” reevaluate your life so it never happens again.

But do go check out the whole list and all the great pictures from the event. They’ll make you thankful to be a knitter. (Awww…)

[Photo via Knitter’s Review.]

Looking for more Thanksgiving patterns check these out on Etsy.

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The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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