Category: Essays on Knitting

Putting Away the Winter Stash

Putting Away the Winter Stash

Cynthia Coe

Springtime has come to Sycamore Cove in a sudden burst of green leaves, yellow buttercups, violets and azalea blossoms. Winter is good and gone. It’s time to put up the winter knitting supplies.

My jewel-toned yarns of burgundy, teal, dark blue, and greys go to the zipped-up bin in the upstairs closet where I won’t use them until autumn. My “works-in-progress” baskets scattered around the house now hold yarns in pastel pinks, spring greens, and cheerful yellows.

Putting up the winter stash elicits mixed emotions. Thinking of the Christmas gifts, winter hats, and warm sweaters I made last season gives me a satisfied sense of accomplishment. But then there’s the projects I planned to make and didn’t, the yarns I had pegged for sweaters or hats or lap blankets that just plain didn’t get made. I wonder if I’ll get to them next year. I wonder where I’ll be in my life, whether that yarn will “speak” to me like it did last year, or whether I’ll come up with some new and unexpected use for those unused skeins.

Life is sometimes like that unused winter stash – projects you planned don’t pan out, you don’t have time for them, or you lost interest in them. Maybe you’ll get back to them, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself with a great new idea next year that just hadn’t occurred to you this year. You feel good about what you did accomplish and give yourself a pat on the back for completed and successful items that gave joy to others or served some useful purpose.

But for now, it’s a new season. New yarns mean new projects, new opportunities, new possibilities. It’s springtime – a time for new beginnings in life and in knitting.

Cynthia Coe is a writer, book reviewer, and avid knitter. Her books and blog posts can be found on her Amazon Author Page. 

Knitting Kits – Worth The Money?

Knitting Kits – Worth The Money?

Cynthia Coe

My knitting skills hit a plateau recently, and I decided to try one of the new knitting kits now available through the miracles of online shopping. I’ll admit, I was wary. Would I really get everything I needed for a finished piece of knitting in one shipment? Scarred by childhood memories of cheap craft kits that didn’t have enough paint or whatever to actually finish a project – leaving me with an unfinished and totally wasted craft – I nevertheless jumped into the new world of knitting kits.

My husband actually pushed me into my first knitting kit with a pricey shawl kit for Christmas. At around $80, it impressed me as a rather lavish gift for two skeins of yarn and a pattern I had to print out myself. But the yarn turned out to be quite nice – 100% wool, generously large skeins, and no kinks or knots that you usually get with yarn from the big box stores. And lo and behold, the kit included more than enough to finish my project. I even had enough of the contrast color to use in another project.

More importantly, I upped my knitting skills significantly. I learned a new way to make shawls, a new way to use colorwork in my knitting, and mastered the picot bind-off (which I wouldn’t have dared tackle of my own accord). I impressed myself with how well and how much I learned in the course of one project.

So was it worth the eighty bucks? Maybe so. Instead of aimless shopping for a massive bag of yarn at the big box store, I got just enough for the project, with no random skeins left over and wasted. In the long run, I could see spending less on kits overall than on the impulse purchases of yarn that sit in a closet for years. But what sold me on the kit was that I actually learned a lot and became a better knitter. That’s worth a lot. I just started my second kit, and I’m growing more confident with new skills already.

For me, the knitting kits are a lot like the meal kits – Blue Apron, Plated, etc. You get just what you need, and you don’t have a lot of leftovers to deal with. Best yet, at the end of the process, you’ll look like a star.  

Cynthia Coeis a writer, book reviewer, and avid knitter. Her books and blog posts can be found on her Amazon Author Page.

The Perils of Knitting the Stash

The Perils of Knitting the Stash

Cynthia Coe

Some say buying yarn is as much of a hobby as actually knitting yarn. I’m guilty of that myself.

You go to the yarn store and see those lovely skeins calling your name. You only have a vague idea of what you will realistically do with that lovely yarn. You buy it on faith…or maybe hope…or maybe just sheer avarice. You take it home and maybe leave it in your “to do” basket of planned or unplanned knitting projects.

But there those lovely skeins of yarn sit for weeks. Or months. Or even years. 

My longest running member of my yarn stash is a bag of undyed cotton yarn I bought on vacation in Monserrat years ago. Who has yarn purchased on a Caribbean island?! I had to have it. I had misty plans of making a summer sweater from that yarn. After the island was nearly obliterated by a volcano, I kept that yarn around just to remember a wonderful place I had once visited. I now have a more solid plan to knit a shawl with it.  We’ll see.

The perils of keeping a stash is that you, ultimately and inevitably, have more yarn that you’ll probably use. If you completely knit through your stash on a regular basis, you’re a better person than I. But most of us over-buy yarn with nothing more than hopes and dreams. If we do use skeins from the stash, we often have too much yarn and skeins left over, too little to use for something else. Or worse, we haven’t bought enough for a project, finding that out long after the yarn is available. 

So what’s a knitter to do? Keep feeding the stash? Put yourself on a yarn diet? 

I’m challenging myself to donate unused yarn to schools or children’s summer programs. I’ve got a big bag for some lucky organization! But in the meantime, I’m eyeing that lovely new yarn I just spotted in the craft store….

Happy Knitting (and Stashing!), Cindy

Cynthia Coe is a writer, book reviewer, and avid knitter. Her books and blog posts can be found on her Amazon Author Page.

An Ode to Garter Stitch

An Ode to Garter Stitch

Cynthia Coe

The humble garter stitch: knit-stitch-only for row after row, with not a single purl or other embellishment to break the so-called monotony. It’s likely the first “pattern” we learn to knit, often left behind as we learn to yarn-over, knit-two-tog, and slip stitches for jazzier and more impressive knitting.

But lately, I’ve embraced the garter stitch as the ultimate in meditative, no-brainer knitting. Once you’ve mastered it (which can be done in an afternoon), you can mindlessly let your fingers work while you carry on a conversation, watch a TV drama, or just zone out. If you do make a mistake, rip it out and start over. It’s not like you’ve messed up some intricate lace work. You just get more knitting in.

Better yet, beginners and experts alike can make practically anything out of garter stitch – a simple bulky weekend sweater, a scarf, a placemat, a coaster. I once stayed at a beach house that didn’t have coasters for cold, icy drinks. Our family didn’t want to ruin the furniture, so I whipped out a set of coasters lickety split, leaving them in the house for the next vacationers. Garter stitch gets it done. 

Here’s my no brainer coaster pattern:

  • With cotton yarn and size 8 or 9 needles, cast on about 20 stitches (as you choose; I don’t micromanage these things).
  • Knit in garter stitch for about 20 rows (or about 4 inches), cast off
  • Add glass of cold iced tea. 

Happy Knitting! Cindy

Cynthia Coe is a blogger, avid knitter, and author of several books. Visit her Author Page on Amazon for more information and a complete list of her books.

Knitting in Public

Knitting in Public

Cynthia Coe

Knitting in public cures a host of social awkwardness ills. If you’re waiting for a plane, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, or just find yourself in a place with nothing much to do, knitting fills the gap. 

This morning, I found myself in one of these places, waiting as my son got his hair cut. I hadn’t had my morning quiet time yet, so I pulled out my small on-the-go knitting project out of my tote bag and got a few rows in while I waited. But looking around me as I waited, I noticed something different.

Usually, when I knit in public, at least a couple of people will come up to me and strike up a conversation.  “What are you making?” they usually ask. “I’d love to learn to knit,” they occasionally say. Or maybe they wistfully remember a mom or grandmother who used to knit.

But this morning, no one said a word. They all focused solely on their phones. I felt like I was the only one in the waiting area truly getting “me time.”

Hoping you’re getting some knitting “me time” today! Cindy

Just published! 

Coffehouse Knits: Knitting Patterns and Essays with Robust Flavor, edited by Kerry Bogert. Classic sweaters, cowls, shawls, socks, and even a nice pair of cozy mittens. This book has a nice collection of patterns plus several essays on knitting and community. The authors evoke a warm coffeehouse oozing with friendship and wooly knitting projects. This would be a nice gift book for the knitters in your life. On sale in hardback for about $18; Kindle for about $15. 

Beginner’s Guide to Colorwork Knitting by Ella Austin. Everything you could possibly need to know about colorwork knitting. Numerous techniques and projects included. The website on Amazon has a nice preview of the book. Available in paperback and Kindle and on sale for about $18 paperback and $14 Kindle.