Knitting

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Using Knitting to Relax During Finals, Holidays

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University of Cincinnati provides craft activities during finals week to calm students. Those of us who have been out of school for a while might not remember very well the stress of finals, end of term papers and other stuff that might be happening this time of year along with the holidays.

For some reason I quit knitting when I was in college — I guess I felt like I was too busy with other stuff — but it probably would have done me good, because, as most of us know, it’s a great stress reliever (at least once you’re comfortable enough with the basics not to be constantly frustrated).

The University of Cincinnati, at least, has people who understand the value of crafts like knitting in stressful times. They’ve set up craft tables for students to partake in painting, knitting, coloring and other playful pursuits to help students destress.

It’s part of the Stress Less Fest, a week of activities designed to calm students during finals week. I say it’s brilliant, and more schools should do things like this to help students deal with stressful times. Heck, more workplaces should do it, too.

Do you use knitting and other crafts to help when you’re stressed? I’d love to hear about it.

[Photo by Madison Schmidt via the News Record.]

Comments

  1. I have knit and crocheted for over 45 years. Many years of relaxation but also keeps the fingers nimble and the mind sharp. You’ll never catch me without a project in my purse.

Have you read?

Knits for the Table for Thanksgiving and Beyond

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long. 

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders. 

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well. 

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn. 

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions. 

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table. 

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter. 

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.