Knitting as Protest and a Show of Love

$fracking protesters stage knit ins$ This week’s knitting news spotlights how knitting can be so much more than “just” making things.

First there’s a group of knitters in Australia who have been protesting against coal seam gas mining (also known as fracking) in their communities by staging a knit in at Member for Dubbo Troy Grant’s office every week since December.

The knitters say they want to show that protest doesn’t have to be violent or radical. One of the knitters, Helen Jeffery of Narromine, got involved when she learned there was a CSG exploration license on the land she and her husband own.

(Of course this story reminded me of the woman in Vermont who got arrested during a knit in protest at a local gas company, but I looked and there doesn’t seem to be more news there.)

Knitting can be an act of protest, but it can also be an act of love, as Virginia knitter Anna Taylor has shown by reaching her goal of knitting 1,000 sweaters for needy kids.

She started working with Guideposts Knit for Kids program in 2006, and it took her almost exactly nine years to knit 1,000 sweaters for the charity, which distributes garments to people in poverty throughout the world.

Now 87 years old, Taylor says she’s sleeps better at night knowing that she’s done something to help little kids, but she’s ready to take a little break from her knitting. She plans to read some books and clean her house.

Have you seen knitting in the news? I’d love it if you’d share, either in the comments or send me gossip at the top of the page.

[Photo via the Daily Liberal.]

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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