Why do YOU knit?

This VERY important question came from a letter to the editor of the New York Times. Well said, Anna!

So tell us, why do YOU knit? Leave a comment below, or join our conversation on social media.

41 thoughts on “Why do YOU knit?

  1. Ronnie says:

    I knit because it is meditative, creative and I love the sight and feel of beautiful yarn and the things that can be made from two straight sticks!

  2. JuliAnn Bachman says:

    Because I had to Pennsylvania German grandmothers. You were never allowed to sit and do nothing. If the garden was in season, there were always veggies to prep for canning or freezing. When there was no garden, needlework was the next item in your hands. While I learned almost all types of needlework between the two of them, I now knit the most with sewing and crochet following a close second. It has kept my family clothed for the last 32 years and is the source of most gifts. I can’t imagine my hands being still.

  3. Betty Farrell says:

    I knit because I am always mesmerized by the transition of yarn to fabric into a garment. I am tranquilized by the repetitive motion of my fingers, needles, and movement of the yarn from ball to hand to needles. Knitting brings me to a relaxed and peaceful space–even when it is a new technique that challenges me. Those challenges I consider Dementia-prevention activities. Most of all, knitting gives me joy. I am happiest when I am knitting. Knitting is a very creative art form; creativity is Divine and knitting connects me with that energy–especially when I knit with love for someone or no one in particular.

  4. Ellen says:

    My mom taught me how to knit when I was 12, 62 years ago. Mom is 95 and she still knits.
    She knits because she feels useful when she does – she makes washcloths and donates them to the local library who sell them for $2 each. The washcloths always sell and it’s like a triple win-the maker, the library and the buyer.

    I have knitted throughout my life, less when I was actively raising my children. It calms me down, it produces gifts, things for me and did I mention it calms me down?

  5. Sarah Neese says:

    I knit because it’s creative and therapeutic. It can also be challenging to the brain. There is always a new method, or a new stitch to learn and yet relaxing when I can leave the crazy
    World behind.

  6. Marilyn Cromartie says:

    Knitting is a spiritual experience for me. It calms my mind, helps me to focus, and gives me joy. It is as important and necessary for me to do every day as it is to wash my face, brush my teeth, and take my prescription medication!

  7. Patricia Bull says:

    I knit because it is a way of giving back to the community, back to family and friends, a piece of me that can also be passed on. I knit for MCF in Kenya because I can’t be there. I knit because I can do things quietly behind the scene.
    I also knit because I cannot sit and do nothing. I need to feel productive.

  8. Sheila Sweeny says:

    I knit because it is both creative and relaxing. My mother taught me to knit when I was in elementary school. I think I was about 8. (I am now 71.). Mother had three daughters, and she expected us to know certain things before leaving home. Those were knitting, cooking and sewing. Things we saw her doing! To this day, I always have several projects in the process of being done simultaneously. To me, knitting is a natural stress reliever. The rhythm and cadence of knitting calms me. It is a wonderful addiction!

  9. Lesley J Levin says:

    I started knitting when I quit smoking so that I had something to keep my hands busy. I kept knitting because I found it very meditative and creative. As a social worker involved in crisis work and suicide prevention I needed knitting to provide me some calming time. The soft feel of the yarn, the rhythmic click of the needles and the beautiful garments I made soothed my soul.

  10. maureen ballotta says:

    I don’t know what I would ever do without my knitting, it takes my mind away to places I
    wouldn’t be if I didn’t have my beloved knitting!

  11. Joanna says:

    I knit for many reasons but mostly because it brings me many pleasant memories: of the Grandma who taught me; of the other Grandmother who handed over to me the task of knitting an Aran sweater for every member of our very large family; of bartering handknits for a rowboat and lobster pots; and of my BFF who I met sitting while under the wing of a sailplane, knitting and waiting to fly.

  12. Hansen says:

    I knit for the love of fiber slipping through my fingers, my mind creating patterns for the fiber to create. For having a life skill that has always sustained me, i could never be bored as I could always knit ?. The outcomes of knitting are endless. Finished projects, wonderful presents to give, meeting new people (everyone wants to know what your doing when your knitting especially in public). Best of all teaching others this life skill. What could be better!

  13. Celia Nelson says:

    I knit (and crochet) because it’s relaxing and comforting and productive and reminds me of my grandmother, who first introduced me to needle crafts as a little girl (I’m 57 now).

  14. Diane Briel says:

    I knit because making useful amazing things with two stocks and some string does something incredible for my spirit. I have to do it every day to feel okay.

  15. milanianna says:

    I knit because I feel creative and accomplished when I’m done with a project. I challenge myself with new patterns , garments and techniques. I feel it is a craft I can use all my life. I love to see the expression in people’s faces when I give them a gift I made. It’s very fulfilling.

  16. K. Sweezey says:

    I knit for all of the reasons mentioned in the article above, plus more. Have been knitting since the age of 6, now more than 60 years ago. We have 34 nieces and nephews and ALL of them love hand knit blankets, sweaters, hats and mittens. Also have what I call my “rogues gallery” of kids – children of friends and colleagues who I have knit for, often baby blankets to celebrate their arrival. I have knit through sports events and band trips/performances when my son was growing up, all while keeping a chaperone’s keen eye on the group who thought I wasn’t paying attention to their antics (ha, ha, fooled them). But most important is my knitting provides a bit of meditation time, especially after returning from an especially stressful day at work as a critical care nurse. Just a half hour with the needles and some beautiful yarn like Morehouse Merino, provides time to reflect and sort thoughts before moving on to other tasks that need to be done. And in the process, another gift is created, sometimes from a printed pattern, sometimes just from my own play. Thank you Albrecht and Erin for the beautiful yarns and for the frequent photos of your farm and baby lambs which bring back memories of my grandparents farm from long ago.

  17. Susan Bray says:

    I knit because I can be near my husband as he watches tv or we drive on a long trip and I can keep my hands busy and my mind happily occupied. I’ve taken a small project to knit out on the deck of a cruise ship and at the hospital during chemo appointments because it sparks good conversations. I knit because it make me happy to feel the yarn in my hands and remember my Mom who knit all my fathers socks.

  18. E M says:

    I’ve worked in the garment trade for 40 years. Instead of sewing I Knit as it is a related activity that I can do outside of my workroom. It’s relaxing, satisfying and something you can do while watching TV or just hanging out.

  19. Nancy spring says:

    Knitting for me is enjoyable, therapeutic, satisfying and the hunt for the right yarn and pattern. Mostly I tell people that “it keeps my hands out of the cookie jar”

  20. Rachel says:

    My grandmother used to take her knitting to circle meetings because (in her words) “I didn’t want the evening to be a complete waste of time!” I knit personal gifts for friends and family. I knit as a creative outlet and to make TV or waiting time into productive time. I also knit when I’m upset or angry. It’s soothing and calming. As I calm down it becomes time to reflect and work through issues while I work through patterns.

  21. Pat Martin says:

    I’m 70 years young and have been knitting since I was 18. Our home ec teacher taught us the basics and when she noticed I was left handed… she taught me the left handed way. Over the years I really had to dissect some instructions because of that! I think it made me a more dedicated knitter. I knit for family and friends (usually hats, socks, and scarves) and sweaters for me and my husband. I have a whole room full of plastic bins with my “yarn stash”. I just tell people it’s a disease. I knit because I love it!!! Nothing is more relaxing that looking through patterns… then finding the right yarn… and then creating the project. My life wouldn’t be the same if I couldn’t knit.

  22. Ann BridgerI says:

    I have been knitting ever since I was a child, my mother taught me and I cannot stop!!!!! I’ve become a yarn addict!!!!! And LOVE it!!! My family has threatened me with expulsion if I justMENTION the word yarn, so,I don’t invite them around so much (more time for me to knit and crochet) hee hee

  23. Sandy says:

    I knit because it makes my joyful. I love the colors and feel of the yarn and the connections with my grandmother and my husband’s grandmother. It centers me and makes me feel positive about life.

  24. Patricia M says:

    My mother taught me to knit when I was four years old. She started me with string for yarn and I made a dishcloth. It wasn’t even on the edges (or in the middle!) and it was lumpy here and there but she used it every day. I was so proud of it, and I’ve been knitting ever since, and I’m 78 now. I taught myself to crochet in my 20’s. I never could manage the conventional method, mine is more like one needle knitting! I keep the hook and the yarn in my right hand and hold the work close to the working stitch with my left hand, the tension is great and it is so quick and easy. I make gifts for family and friends, hats to donate to the chemo center and I belong to a wonderful crochet/knitting group and together we make hats and scarves for the homeless. As Anna does, I work while watching TV, and as with her I get a lot of satisfaction at the thought of bringing happiness to others. Plus playing around with patterns and making my own designs for things keeps the old brain ticking over! It’s great that sites such as yours keep the yarn life fun and interesting – thank you!

  25. Linda Wilcox says:

    I knit to keep my brain sharp. In the sixty years since I first learned how to knit, techniques have changed and expanded so much. Learning these new skills through KALs, videos, social media, and so many other sources keeps me stretching my brain and feeling more accomplished than ever. And it’s much more relaxing and pleasurable than learning a new language, which was my original anti-Alzheimers program.

  26. Sherry says:

    Why do I knit?

    I knit because I find it relaxing (most of the time!) and I love creating something beautiful from next to nothing — two sticks and a length of string! The color and content of the “string” are nearly endless. Plus my Bible tells me I am created in the image of God. God is creative – just look around! So when I knit I feel like I am being creative, too, and in touch with my Creator. Throw in spinning my own “string” and the process is divine, meditative, calming, and peaceful. I could go on but you get the picture!

  27. Anne Slater says:

    I knit because my mother knitted. She was very clever and talented as well. Some of her sweaters, baby-sacques, blankets, mittens and hats are wandering through the children of friends of friends, in Scotland, Italy, and all over the USA.
    I knit because it keeps my hands busy. The arthritis in my fingers that makes handwriting so painful does not seem to be activated by knitting.
    For a long time, I knitted because my mother left behind a HUGE stash of lovely yarns from Scotland, Greece, Germany– it took me 20 years to use up my portion of her stash!
    I knit because I love the people for whom my productions are destined. Sometimes they love them (the garments that were easiest, of course) and some times they don’t. While I try so hard to make things in a style and color that will be appreciated, I know that my children, children-in-law, grands and great grand, will know that I made them with love and them in mind.

  28. bunny hand says:

    Knitting is my peace! I knit because the yarns feel good in my hands and the products are so add. ( I especially like to knit little things. )

  29. Vicki Patterson says:

    I knit because it is done with love, whether for family, friends, or charity and every one could use a little more love! It is relaxing, I have a sense of accomplishment, and all those yarns keep calling my name!

  30. Jo Hamilton says:

    I knit because, for me, it’s a little like spinning straw into gold. I take needles and luscious, dreamy feeling material and Hey, presto! From under my hands appear any amount of items worry of being worn by a queen.

  31. Mary says:

    I knit because it gives me the opportunity to work with the most beautiful, colorful and tactile materials, because the activity is patterned and becomes a mantra, because the work delights those who are gifted the pieces they admire and because I am allowed to create something lovely without a reason or a responsibility.

  32. elizabeth streeter says:

    Beca i like it and when people talk about being bored i cant se how i dont have enough hours in the week to do all i want to do who has time to be bored enjoy the beautiful yarns that are available and so many pattern in my list i would need to be 200 to do them all.

  33. Peggi Laubenheim says:

    I knit because I’m fascinated by what the yarn becomes as I work with the pattern. I love the tactile goodness of yarn and the wonderful colors available. I also spin, but not enough to keep up with my habit of knitting every night. I support the Made in USA companies that provide such a wonderful selection of breed specific yarns that it make me want some of each, and I’m working on it! My alligator purse is a big hit wherever I go. The scarf I gave away, but plan to make another one for me. Just the other day I saw a young man walking up one of our country roads with a lamb under his arm, so precious. Kudos to you for continuing the tradition of gathering wool for those of us who cannot raise the sheep ourselves!

  34. maureen waters says:

    Why do I knit??? There is something about holding 2 needles(or crochet hook) with soft Yarn to create something that will be cherished for years down the road by family or friends . For me the yarn can be anything from wool, silk, acrylic, cotton, or a mix of all. I consider myself a beginning knitter & crocheted even though I’ve been crocheting since I’m about 8 years old and knitting for just a few years. For me it’s a peaceful process & calms me when life can be chaos sometimes.

  35. Linda says:

    Why do I knit? I love to knit blankets and scarves and cowls…it makes me feel happy to create something with yarn and needles…I also crochet…I am never without hooks or needles. EVER..People ask me don’t your hands get tired. I say no because I am relaxed when I am knitting or crocheting so my hands are never tense. Probably why at my age after 52 years of knitting and crocheting my hands are just fine.

  36. Pauline Moeller says:

    Why do I knit? I guess it’s because I always wanted to try to knit.
    It’s , as someone else said, relaxing, but also nice to see your project
    developing

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