Knitting

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Watch This Sweet Short Film on the Value of Knitting

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When animator Samantha Moore’s mother lost the ability to follow knitting patterns because of dementia, Moore taught herself to knit through YouTube tutorials and was able to find comfort in knitting as her mother’s health declined.

She began to interview knitters about what knitting means to them and how it gets them through hard times and made the animated short film, “Visible Mending,” which you can view at The New York Times’ website.

The video includes several British knitters and is illustrated with knit characters that either they or Moore designed. The video is full of knit and crochet and stories about how knitting gives us a place to explore and be comforted, to know that mistakes don’t really matter, and to share our love and creativity with other people.

This time of year seems perfect for thinking about what knitting (and crochet if you do that too) means to you, what value you get from it and how you can share that with others in the new year.

Knitting may seem like a simple act of making things, and it is, but it is or can also be stress relief, self expression, a way of connecting with other people, a way to learn new things, hold on to traditions of the past and so much more. It gives us ways to use our talents to be charitable, to make gifts, to teach others.

I know I want more of all of that in the year to come. I’ve been using this in between time to work on some knitting projects to donate to a local warming center, and hatching plans to continue to do more of that in the new year.

I hope you’ll watch the film and think about what knitting means to you, and come back and share it with the rest of us!

[Photo via The New York Times]

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Textured Baby Blanket Knitting Patterns

There are so many baby blanket knitting patterns out there I could probably do a post a month full of them and not run out for a very long time. This time I thought I’d look specifically at single color baby blankets that are interesting because of the inclusion of textured stitching. This makes them easy enough for new knitters but engaging for knitters of all skill levels. 

Take the Textured Checks Baby Blanket from Janet Dubbelman for example. This project is mostly stockinette stitch, with some what looks like reverse stockinette and garter stitch thrown in to make the ridges. You can use whatever yarn weight you like to make blankets of different sizes. Find the pattern on Ravelry. 

The Seedling from Modern Made Shop is just about as easy as it comes, combining seed stitch with a garter stitch border. It calls for worsted weight yarn and is perfect for beginners. 

The Julie Baby Blanket by Elisabeth Kristiansen is another one with an easy allover stitch pattern that you can knit up in a flash in whatever size you want. (The pattern notes say any gauge but it also says 28 stitches per 4 inches, which would be a superfine or fine weight yarn. Learn more on Ravelry. 

The Oscar Baby Blanket from Snufflebean is another one with an easy repeating stitch pattern that has a really fun, graphic effect. This is also great worked in a bright color, reminding us that babies don’t have to be in pastels! This one uses DK weight yarn. 

If you want to get a little fancier, check out Sammy Bristow’s Georges Blanket. This one alternates blocks of stockinette stitch with boats and anchors made by purling on the right side of the blanket. It calls for DK weight yarn and has multiple sizes for dolls through toddlers. Check it out on Ravelry.

Another cute texture is this heart blanket with diamonds that are a little reminiscent of argyle. Yarn Sonata Patterns has this one, which is worked in DK weight yarn and comes in four sizes. It includes a chart and row by row instructions. 

Or try the pretty Seton Portage baby blanket from Knitted Wishes, which has a border of trees and textured stitches that look like snow falling. The pattern includes different options for snowflakes and doing a mirror image of the trees on each end of the blanket. It’s worked in worsted weight yarn. This one includes charts, written instructions and video tutorials for special stitches.