Wow – I’ve so enjoyed reading your comments on Wednesday’s post. (I still have more to read – not through them all yet.) Whether it’s continuing a heritage passed down from your great (great great) grandparents, or seeing you through some tough life-situations, or enjoying the beautiful yarns and fibers, or blessing others with things that you have made with your own hands, or giving you something to do when you’d be likely to otherwise fidget, I think it’s pretty unanimous that we all love knitting. So far, I haven’t seen anyone say that they are knitting “for now”. A few people hope that this will stick with them for life, but the great majority of you feel that you will definitely be knitting for years and years to come. As knitters, we love the portabilty of knitting, we love the huge variety of things that we can make, we love the challenge of hard patterns (and the mindlessness of others), we love the fibers and colors, and we love that there never seems to be a shortage of things to make and keep or give away. (As several of you pointed out, someone may not have room in their house for that picture you spent hours cross-stitching for them, or the pillow you needlepointed for them, but not many people turn down hand-knit socks!)
Since I think these comments are so priceless and I think they share so much, I had an idea. I’m going to print off some of the comments (without names attached) to make a big collage for one of the walls here at Loopy. To go along with that, I’d love to have you email me a photo of you and your friends, knitting. I’ll sprinkle photos in among the quotes of “why do you knit?”. I know I won’t be able to use all of the quotes and all of the photos, but I think it will make for a very fun wall here. Of course I’ll show you a picture when I’m done. I always get a little sad for people who have pre-conceived notions about knitters, don’t you? They think of the toilet paper roll covers that their grandmothers made (not that there’s anything wrong with that…) or the scratchy (ugly) sweaters and goofy slippers that their aunts gave them for their birthdays years and years ago, and they wonder why anyone would want to knit? Or how it could possibly be challenging in any way? They’re sure missing out, aren’t they? This wall just needs to be done. And then I’ll need to find a way to get non-knitters in here to see it and convince them to give knitting a try.
No recipes today, but how about some low calorie treats for you? Marlon from Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, mentioned knitting up wonderful pastries with yarn from The Loopy Ewe, so I asked for photos! The patterns came from this book, and of course the varieties are endless. I’m afraid that if I had that chocolate cake sitting out on the counter, I’d be hankering for a real piece of one by the end of the day. Too tempting! But what a fun way to use up your leftover yarn and to make people smile. 🙂 Thanks, Marlon, for sharing photos and giving me permission to use them on the blog today. You did a beautiful job on all of these.
WH and I are heading up to Indiana to visit College Guy and College Girl tomorrow – yay! I can’t wait to see them. (Still trying to figure out why kids think they need to grow up and move out of the house, but I know that it’s supposed to be a “good thing”. sigh.)
Sheri whocan’twaittostartinontheLoopyCentralKnittingCollage
nowthatIputthatideaintomyhead
Have a safe trip and great weekend!
They look real! Except for the “fruit basket” I thought the pictures of real cakes. They made me want chocolate cake FPS. I mean I’ve eaten 2 boxes of thin mint GS cookies and left over Valentine’s candy but I still want a piece of chocolate cake. Now you tell me they’re knitted!
Have a safe trip and great weekend. I gotta go find chocolate now.
All those yummy pictures are making me hungry!! Have fun visiting those college kids. Be careful tomorrow, I think they are forecasting a 2-3″ of snow on Saturday.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 😀
Just what a Weight Watchers girl needs!
May I add one of my favorite things about knitting? Teaching someone else to knit. As a former flight attendant, I’ve taught many of my flying partners, and I asked one thing in return–that they teach someone else , and pass on the craft. I think the whole world should be knitting!
Hope you have a great weekend with your kids!
Have a great weekend: safe travels and fun with the kids!
It’s quarter past five, my stomach is growling, there’s no cake in the house…what to do, what to do?
An absolute artist1 These desserts are beautiful. I have had that look when I tell someone I knit. I think it says you are to young to knit and why are you wasting your time. They really have no idea. You can’t even explain to this type of person. They are just stuck in their box. I have decided it is fine with me. More yarn for the rest of us!
Safe travel…
Have a wonderful and safe trip visiting College Girl and College Guy. I love the idea of the collage on your wall at the shop! Very fun!!
Those are very cute! I don’t want to knit up any fake pastries, because then my husband will ask me if I’ve finished the crochet yoda. Maybe I’ll bake some tasty patries instead.
Those are great treats! It’s best I don’t have them around here, though, I think I’d get a hankering for the real thing 🙂 Have a great trip this weekend!
Have a good trip and spend as much time as you can with your kids. They
grow up so fast and sometimes they have to move out of town when they are
grown for their jobs. I remember when I had the empty nest syndrome. The cake looks real and delicious. I have too many UFO’s
to knit a cake, but it looks good.
Oh my…I thought that was real cake you were sharing for recipe Friday. They look so yummy and Marlon did a fantastic job. The chocolate cake reminds of the “hot fudge cake” we used to serve (I’m sure they still do) when I worked (during high school in the 70’s) at Bob’s Big Boy when I lived in California. I’ll have to make that calorie free cake. Have a great time visiting College Guy and College Girl. 🙂
I want cake now and it is all your fault. Have fun seeing the kids.
Have a safe trip! More white stuff is supposed to fall from the sky. 😉
Dios mio! Those knitted desserts are incredible and an inspiration.
Have a good trip!
wow those are some beautiful pastries! Hope you have a great visit and that wall would be uber cool.
Don’t know if it is too late enter the blog contest but here are my answers to your questions about “why do you knit” –
My grandmother taught me how to knit and sew when I was a young girl and I taught myself to crochet in college. I’ve been a fiberholic ever since, adding quilting and spinning to my list of enjoyments along the way. When I knit, I feel connected with the women in my family down through past generations who all seem to have enjoyed working with their hands, be it with yarn, needle, spindle, or cloth. It’s meditation that centers me, therapy that keeps me sane, a skill I can use to give to others, and an obsession that I happily embrace. I’ve been knitting for about 50 years now so I think I’m pretty well hooked and won’t be giving it up any time soon. In fact, when I’m over at the nursing home visiting my mother and see ladies over there knitting, I always think “Oh, I hope I can still knit if I make it to that age.”
I love those no calorie yummies. They are beautifully done! I hope you have a really great weekend with your kids!! Have a safe trip.
Oh my…I love those knitted cakes!! Have fun with the kiddos this weekend!
Have a fun weekend!
Maybe knitting desserts would keep me from eating them!
My KAL group is getting together this weekend at my house…where there will be plenty of knitting and eating. I’ll take photos for your wall…
If I had that knitted cake in front of me all day, I’d gain 5 pounds just for having thoughts of wanting the real thing!
Have safe travel and be careful they are supposed to be getting some snow in that area.
That sounds like a great idea! I hope the trip wasn’t too bad for you to Indiana. I know where I live, we got an icy snow (which I bet Upland got since it’s not that far away). Be careful coming home.
Those knitted treats are TOO COOL. What a clever person 🙂
The collage on the wall at Loopy Central is a fantastic idea! Those knitted cakes are too tempting. I had to look away, they were making me so hungry. Hope you had a safe trip and a great visit with your kids (I’m commenting so late that you might be back home already)!
LOVE the idea of the collage!! You are an endless source of brilliant ideas!! We get to see all of our college kids this weekend, although it involves two separate trips in two different directions. TOTALLY worth it!! I also don’t get why they have to grow up and leave us……
I’m hungry now.
Thanks for the book link. I was in London last year and saw some incredible knitted tea cozies in a knitting shop and they had no idea if the patterns were available – they were only selling the finished cozies. Then I started seeing the cozies in gift shops and knew the patterns had to be available somewhere. Of course, now it seems everyone violated copyright by selling the finished cozies unless laws in different in the UK. I am off to visit a college on Thurs – Sat with college bound daughter. Anything fun to visit in Athens OH?
Oh – and thank you for the mini sock kit in my latest order. What is that scrumptious deep pink yarn with it?
Love that cake! And boy, has it ever made me want to have a piece of real chocolate cake. There is a Panera across the parking lot in the shopping center next to my office and I might have to run over there and get something yummy….now see what you started?!
I understand how you feel about the kids growing up. We are getting ready to move my 23 year old to Northern Michigan (from Maryland) next month. And my College Guy wil be graduating in May and plans to move up near New York with his girlfriend and for a job. I’m glad that I have raised kids who can live independent lives, but I am the one who is really not ready!
Oh this is right up my alley! My daughter got a mini kitchen and tea set for Christmas, so I’ll have to go check out this book so I can make little “sweets” for my sweetie.These are so cute and not at all fattening LOL! 😉