Stitching in the Storm and More Ways to Help

November 2, 2012 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I’m loving this story I found on the Washington Post website about using downtime from the storm better known as Sandy to knit. It’s also about color, Kaffe Fassett and how knitting from someone else’s pattern can and should be a creative act.

I love it in part because I can relate when author Anne Midgette says hurricane knitting is “comfort knitting,” the same stitch repeated over and over, something that can be worked by candlelight. I had this same experience about four years ago when a much smaller storm robbed my house of power for three days (I was knitting a garter stitch sweater which Istill haven’t finished, but I’ve been thinking about pulling it out again).

I know a lot of yarn companies and individual designers and yarn crafters have been affected by the storm, and I wish you all speedier recoveries than a lot of people have gotten so far. I told a friend in Brooklyn that it’s ridiculously normal in the rest of the country right now, but that doesn’t mean we don’t feel guilty about it. My heart is with you all as I stitch through the storm, too.

The other day I told you about one way knitters near and far can help with relief efforts: buying the Hurricane Socks pattern. Some other designers are donating money from pattern sales to the Red Cross; there’s a good list going at Metaphor Yarns’ Facebook page. If you know of more feel free to add them here.

[Photo: Sweetheart by Pauline Gallagher, via Ravelry]

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Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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