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Knitting Club Banned from Library for Being Too Loud

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no knittingThis sort of sounds like a story that would come from The Onion, but it’s true, far as I can tell: the Knit and Natter group in Cramlington, Northumberland, has been banned from meeting in the city’s new library because they take up too much room and are too loud.

The group of up to 30 women has to find a new home by the end of September. Organizers say they were never told they were too loud at the old library, and they’ve done good things while meeting there including knitting a Christmas tree for the library in 2011.

What do you think? Are knitters too loud to meet in a library, or are county councilors going too far?

[Photo, which has nothing to do with this story at all, from Flikr via Buzzfeed.]

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Comments

  1. Well, knitting needles are dangerous – they could poke out someone’s eye. Same way books are so dangerous because you could get a papercut…
    I went to a facility once where I wasn’t allowed to take in my knitting needles (size 20’s!!!) because I might use them to take drugs.
    I think the world has gone mad sometimes!

  2. Knitters may be too loud but they’ve been there a while so why ban them now? Maybe they can find a community room that will let them get together.

  3. What they didn’t like the clicking noise by all those knitting needles? That is really dumb call there.

  4. Many areas in the UK are facing libraries closing as councils try and cut costs………So craft clubs, childrens groups and mothers groups meeting in them enables a community library fit into the social life of its area.
    If a group stays in the library all day long it could be a nuisance for other users yes, but for goodness sake, meetings are what, a couple of hours?
    Leave them alone Northumberland Council!!

  5. We can’t really judge how disruptive they might be without being there. I must say, though, that we have a couple of rather small libraries in our area. When they put on any sort of lecture or kids program, they can’t help but present it to the whole library. There’s no escaping it. I guess the librarians figure drawing people into the library for an activity trumps the inconvenience to other patrons. Our big local library, fortunately, has both flexible community rooms for activities like knitting, and a quiet reading room for those who really need quiet. Oddly, they sometimes let a community group use it. Libraries are, first and foremost, for reading.
    I like the phrase “knit and natter” better than “stitch and bitch.” And my curiosity was piqued by the activity in aid of breastfeeding. Hard to picture.

Have you read?

A Blanket Knitting Pattern Where Yarn Selection is Everything

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]