Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

The Meaning of Knitting

by

You don’t see stories about knitting in the New York Times all that often, and this isn’t a news article, but an op-ed contributor wrote a really nice piece for the paper about what knitting means and what it does for those of us who do it — eventhose who don’t do it very well.

“Knitting My Way Home” is about Joy Kündig-Manning’s train trip across Switzerland, during which she literally knit her way home, working slowly on a purple mohair scarf. But it’s also about the generations of crafty ladies who came before, and how craft can be like the comforts of home, a reminder of the traditions you came from, even if you don’t always practice them yourself.

It’s also a great argument for people who’ve ever been criticized for knitting at a meeting or in public, noting that we tend to listen more intently when knitting than we might otherwise.

It’s a nice little story about what people see when they see knitters and what’s really going on. I hope you enjoy it!

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.