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Knitting: Not Just for Stay-at-home Moms

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young knittersI really wanted to like this article from the Star-Telegram about younger knitters who were attracted to the craft for various reasons but stick with the craft because of the friendships they’ve formed doing it. I mean, it doesn’t even use the term “not your grandma’s knitting”! (At this point, my bar for a good story about knitting is pretty low.)

But then there’s this description of a Brooklyn-based knitting circle, chatting about “Mad Men” to the clicks of their needles:

But these four friends are not retirees or ambitious stay-at-home moms eager to find an outlet for their free time. All have full-time careers — textile designer, graphic designer, kindergarten teacher — and all are under 34.

Grr. I’m 34, by the way, and have a full-time career AS A KNITTER. Well, as a crafter, anyway. And no one’s writing “news” stories about me.

Maybe I’m sensitive. I grew up knitting and I don’t think of it as anything strange that other people my age and younger do the same. The social aspect of knitting isn’t really anything new, either. It’s great that newspapers and other media outlets want to write about knitting, but I’d much rather it was such a common part of life that it wasn’t thought of as news. What do you think?

[Photo via the Star-Telegram by Columbia News Service/Kerri Anne Renzulli]

Comments

  1. Thought I was the only one that had that reaction. I have knitted since I was six and for 64 years all I heard was that only grandmothers knit. Still knitting even without grandkids to knit for.

  2. As a knitter I find articles like this one funny. However I do get some strange looks when I pull out my knitting. Whether it’s at work or at the local wine bar, it has brought about some interesting conversations, amazing how many people think I’m crocheting. The men are more fascinated than the women, which I find odd. Of course, everyone wants you to knit something for them and I politely say no. I always offer to teach them and gee so far no one has taken me up on that offer. Love your column!

  3. “ambitious stay-at-home moms eager to find an outlet for their free time” Really?

    Why would a SAHM Mom want to fill ALL that free time with knitting when she can just keep sitting on the couch reading 50 Shades of Gray, watching TV and eating bon-bons?

    Guess I’m sensitive too? 😉

  4. Wendi, you are so right!!!! I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for many years and it’s only been since my kids have left home that I have ANY free time! What is up with people?

    If you’re sensitive then count me in that group. Free time? Ha!

  5. Exactly. I work at home but was a work at home stay at home mom for the first two years of my daughter’s life, and there was no free time. There’s still no free time. 🙂 Glad I’m not the only one, though I do find them funny, too.

  7. It was the “yarn-obsessed females” that got to me. I think someone was upset about their writing assignment.

Have you read?

Easy Knit Baskets to Use All Your Stash

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.