Life With Wool
Other Games of Wool
Greetings from Maine!
Lately everyone’s been talking about the new British reality competition show Game of Wool. In it, ten knitters compete to be named “Britain’s Best Knitter” while judges Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell look on and host Tom Daley reminds everyone how much time they have left.
I saw just enough of the show to know that it wasn’t for me. In general, I’m not into high-stakes competition shows where people frantically race around trying to achieve the impossible while a stranger points a camera in their face.
But especially where knitting is concerned, I find little entertainment value in watching knitters be pitted against one another. In many ways, this feels like the antithesis of what we’re about.
Knitting is not a race and it is not a competition. Even those few competitions that we do have—and I’m thinking specifically about sheep-to-shawl contests—are collaborative.
But it did get me thinking about what my own Game of Wool might be. For I certainly do play enough games with wool, and I suspect you do too.
For example, who doesn’t enjoy a good round of How Many Wool Items Can I Wear At Once? A few days ago, I bested my previous score when I successfully wore 14 items and remained perfectly comfortable despite a windchill in the negative double digits.
Victorious while wearing 14 clothing items with wool in them
I’m also very skilled at the Will Anyone But Me Notice? game. I play this when I discover a mistake so far back in the project that it would require unraveling at least half my work. Really. Will anyone but me notice? Probably not.
But this leads directly to the follow-up challenge: Can I Wear This Around Another Knitter Without Pointing It Out to Them? My success rate on that one is abysmal.
Another contest in which most of us are already at the Olympic level: Where Was I? You know this one, when you pick up a sweater once a year and try to figure out where you were in the pattern. We usually succeed after a few clunky starts, only to get distracted and set it down. Again. For another year.
And who hasn’t played at least one round of That’ll Block Out.
Yes, but will it?
Since it’s December, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Holiday Giving slalom. We usually come out of the chute strong and optimistic, confident that we’ll finish a full slate of gifts that, with each swerve between poles, gets shorter and shorter until the end, when we’re left with one hat and a pair of fingerless mitts whose ends we still have to weave in.
I haven’t been lucky enough to play this next game, but I do know plenty of balls of yarn that have. It’s the 125-foot Dash Down the Airplane Aisle During Take-Off. Will it make it all the way to the back row before someone sticks out their foot to stop it?
There’s the Great Gauge Gallop, in which the results of a 100-yard swatch dash convince us we can knit a 100-mile ultramarathon at the same pace. And what about How Do I Mend This Hole? with separate categories for Most Invisible and Most Gloriously Visible mend?
Candidate for Most Visible Mend
I haven’t mentioned perhaps our most popular game of all, Yarn Chicken. I bet you’ve played this one recently? Protocol dictates that winners post photos of their miracle, and losers advance to the Yarn Hunt level, where we must use all resources at our disposal to locate that one skein of discontinued yarn we need, in a specific colorway and dye lot.
Knitters are really good at finding the un-findable. In fact, the intelligence community should do itself a favor and hire more knitters to locate missing people. We’ll track down anything, anywhere in the world, if you tell us there’s yarn involved.
All of these have been single-player games. But if I had to put a bunch of knitters in a room and make them compete, it would go something like this: We’re given a pattern—a mitten, perhaps.
We all sit in a circle, and we knit and talk for a while. Maybe an hour? Someone says, “Stop!” We put down our needles and go around the room showing how far we got. We compare notes and talk about the process, what we learned, what was a challenge, and then we vote anonymously on which mitten and process we found most interesting—and then we head off for tea and cake.
While Game of Wool is all about trying to make contestants think they can knit a perfectly finished, seamed, and blocked sweater in 12 hours or less (hint: they can’t), I much prefer the games that value slowness. For example, the How Long Can I Take to Complete This Round? game. Or the How Long Can I Take to Finish This Project, with bonus points for projects that have been left unfinished for two generations or more.
For the Oldest UFO, I present this unfinished sweater bequeathed to me by my grandmother.
Ours is one of the few communities that doesn’t prioritize competition. Sure, as humans we’re always checking ourselves against those around us. But knitting is not a race and it’s definitely not a competition sport.
There is no such thing as The Best Knitter. If you love the feel of yarn and needles in your hands, you’re a knitter, you belong, and you’ve already won. That’s certainly worth celebrating, no?
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I like your games much better! I’ve played most of them, except the airplane dash. I have done airplane fishing, when the yarn or dpn falls under the seat. Usually behind me. I gave up on the holiday knitting slalom this year.
I wouldn’t win the generational game, but I do have some yarn that was my grandmother’s. I made a fringed granny triangle shawl using some of it for my daughter when she was younger.
Clara
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Well said and so true!
All games have been tried and tested by members of my knitting group at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in DC!
A real question & yet Another game: what is the pattern of the shawl you’re wearing and what is the yarn?
(I want to knit it!)
All the Best!
Ahh, good eye! The shawl is Color Affection by Veera Välimäki. The yarn, alas, is my Clara Yarn Shetland 1.0, which no longer exists.
Clars
Thank you
I love that pattern!
I’ve knit that pattern!
Looks like it’s calling me to knit it again.
Thank you.
All the Best!
Sounds like a challenge! Shaela doesn’t seem to be for sale or trade on Ravelry at the moment although it has been in the past. Moorit and Mooskit Sholmit are both listed as available currently.
Clara, I believe that this is one of your best pieces, ever.
Goodness. That’s high praise. Thank you!
I liked your comments ….. True knitters just enjoy the process and each other’s company. I’m sure when fellow walkers come across me, along with my two four legged friends, they sure know someone knits! I’m a proud knitaholic and we’re all warm and cozy..
Agree!
I will sign up for Clara’s game!
Yaaay! You’re in!
Engaging collaborative games that involve scavenger hunts, story sharing a coffee Pause? Yes! … and faculty meeting w the dropped metal dpn in the sloping auditorium has to be somewhere in the card deck of “chance”. Enjoyed this post. Leveling up means herding sheep.
Ahhh yes, that distinctive CLANG of a dropped needle…
Love your suggestions for games! I once dropped a metal dpn onto a concrete floor from row 40 of the bleachers during a district teachers meeting. I can still hear each bounce, and remember with gratitude the colleague who climbed under said bleachers to retrieve the troublemaker…
New to your insight, and now a student. I’m new to knitting, have discovered I prefer natural fibers versus man made.
And new enough – at 66 – to have done a few of your games. I used to think that mistakes were abhorrent and have started projects over several times. Now I just say they are my personal quirk. I inwardly dare the recipient to say something about the imperfections, having spent months knitting that queen size blanket, or the simple sweater. Should someone make an observation, I simply strike them from future projects.
What I’ve discovered as I challenge myself to learn this skill and its many stitches, my ability to achieve perfection has grown as my inability to tolerate ignorance has shriveled. There are checks and balances in aging.
Thank you for giving me joy today!
Yarn Chicken? I’ve been known to rip it out and reknit it one size smaller.
I’m currently playing How Many Test Knits Can I Do At Once and Still Make Deadline?
And then my personal favorite, Why Am I Knitting This? which includes, but is not limited to, baby sweaters for non-existent babies, hats that I will never wear, Lopi sweaters that are too warm, etc.
Ohhh, the Why Am I Knitting This challenge. I forgot about that one…
I haven’t done many test knits, but i find that they keep me in too much of a rush. And I feel guilty if I dont want to finish them or they turn out not the way I wanted.
Oh man. KellyR stopped me from the baby blanket for nonexistent people treadmill.
Í couldn’t have said it better! Thanks for the smiles
Find the dropped DPN/stitch marker is a favorite at our house. There must be a cozy community of them inside my couch.
I wonder, will they rise up one day, like zombies?
YES. Stitch markers. In (not on) the rugs.
Where the resident baby is usually the one who finds it/them.
Or dog or cat…
That is such a wonderful article, Thankyou! I’m sharing to my knitter friends so they can chuckle, too. I’ve played those games. Another one that gets a lot of mileage with me is “car trip knitting needle hide and seek” usually played over country roads at dusk while trying to reach a good point in the work to put it down. Or getting back into the car after a rest stop only to discover a missing needle.
I’ve been the goalie in a game of 125-foot Dash Down the Airplane Aisle During Take-Off, stopping a wayward skein from bolting to the back of the plane.
You are a saint and a HERO.
The Game of Wool is such a disappointment, it could have been so good, I can’t believe they got it so wrong and I can think of a dozen ways it could have been so much better.
I actually feel quite sorry for the contestants, some of whom are obviously good knitters looking at the garments they are wearing. They often look like they can’t believe what they are being asked to do.
The only good thing is Simon’s kindness and the friendship between the knitters.
Plus I have a feeling that a TON of much more meaningful interactions got left on the editing floor in order to create fast paced DRAMA. That makes me sad, too, for everyone’s sake.
I loved this! We are all winners in the knitting games. Clara, the yarn and unfinished knitted by Gramma sweater are beautiful. I’m going to see if I can find that yarn- let the game begin♥️
Loved this column! Before-breakfast laughs are the best.
Loved this…thank you for a laugh this morning! I’d also add the group game, “Can you fix this for me,” where your fellow knitting circle member gets frustrated over an unintended increase, dropped stitch, or yarn ball tangle and drops her project into your lap. Because there are beverages and snacks involved, and no competition, no one minds. 🙂
Magnificent
I agree with you. I joined a sock challenge one year, my LYS’ version of sock madness, and it was so stressful, I didn’t knit socks for months afterwards. Knitting should be at your own pace and relaxing, most of the time.
I so agree with you – it’s not a speed activity and l will probably bequeath several PHDs to my children
Let me see: 2 finger puppets, 1 beaded finger ring, 2 mittens, 1 hat 1 cowl, 1 scarf, 1 pullover, 1 cardigan, 2 leg-warmers, 2 socks (that makes 14)…and a partri-i-idge in a pear tree. As someone who spent hours every winter waiting for a way-overdue school bus in 30-degree weather, this is not an unlikely scenario. You are my favorite breakfast read-along today, Clara. Thanks for a fun and thoughtful time. (The puppets were in your pocket for visiting grand-nieces and nephews. Obviously.)
I have “won” in a few of the games you mentioned and I have competed in some you have yet to unveil! Good article.
As a left handed, slow a molasses in an ice storm knitter, I love your thoughts. Knitting to me is comfort, the comforting feel of the yarn in my hands.
Well stated!
This makes my heart feel so good to read this! I love being a knitter and part of this wonderful community!❤️
Bravo! Well said and knitting is a pleasure, not a chore/job.
I love your game theme and yes, I’ve played them all.
Happy Holidays ❤️
Suzanne
Fantastic take on the tv show. I loved your categories of knitting. We’ve all competed in them and sometimes, won. Great article!
I love this concept. I would add another game of Better This Time for when I’ve knit a second item from the same pattern but tweaked the pattern the way I want to knit it.
Thanks for acknowledging that all of life need not be a competition!!
Yes! I am currently making my second vest with the same yarn in a different color. I have trouble trusting the sizes on patterns, and I end up making a sweater (or vest) too large.
DITTO!!!
This
Thank you, Clara, for fabulous article. I couldn’t tear myself away from reading it to even get myself a 2nd cup of coffee!
As a pokey little puppy knitter, in any knitting race, I would consistently end up in last place. Oh well – I’m knitting and that is the most important thing.
I love everyone’s comments too.
I LOVE everything about this. My latest inner competition is how many WIP’s do I have going (Answer- many!)! And where the heck are my stitch markers?
Thank you so much for this. Nothing is better than a laugh first thing in the morning, even before the second cup of coffee.
Wise words. The joy comes with the making and the giving. Everything doesn’t have to be a contest.
Love your writing, it always inspires and grounds me.
I, of course, am “watching” Game of Wool….i’ll watch pretty much anything wooly. And late night TV is often my knitting companion!
Clara, you are so right. They got so much wrong! Especially the competition….kicking someone off at the end of every episode! Knitters just don’t do that! In my experience, knitters are much more likely to be collaborative, creative, supportive, understanding, generous….i could go on. What the knitters actually produce on the show is pretty impressive, but the competitive piece just doesn’t ring true!
It’s all about the Zen!
Fantastic yarn essay. As a sister knitter from Maine, you started my day right—low and slow.
I’ll go with Clara’s versions of Game of Wool!
I do have a suggestion for another game for the list: How long will it take to untangle and wind a beautiful skein of mostly silk yarn that the pup picked up out of the open bin and took to the other room to play with?
Ohhh I forgot about the Great Detangle! That’s an epic task very much deserving of inclusion in our wool games. There’s a whole art and science to detangling, isn’t there?
Yes! The Great Detangle!
I was once at a knitting retreat with a bunch of friends, and I was trying to roll a cake of yarn. It was so tangled that I got frustrated and walked away to just go knit something else instead – leaving the tangled yarn on the swift. Hours later one of my fellow retreatees dropped a ball of yarn in my lap. It was mine! She had taken on the great Detangle Challenge unbeknownst to me and completed it for me! I was literally moved to tears. This is the spirit of knitting. It’s not a competition. It’s a collaboration 100%. Great article by the way!
Yes, detangling should definitely be an event in our Knitting Olympics! I have spent hours trying to find both ends of a skein and I don’t have a puppy to blame!
Thank you, Clara!
Your games are great Clara, and it is comforting to know that I am not the only one playing them. We were in London last month and I was excited to see this show on the hotel tv guide. What a disappointment! I can watch cooking and baking competitions with no anxiety at all, probably because I am a mediocre cook and don’t bake at all. But I couldn’t even sit still for the knitting show, my anxiety level was so high. Finally turned it off and planned the next day’s activities to calm down. Thanks for a great article to start the day.
Clara you always make me smile. How true that as knitters we are a community that bonds together. Not one that competes.
Cheers!
Leanne
Clara you always make me smile. How true that as knitters we are a community that bonds together. Not one that competes.
Cheers!
Dearest Clara,
You’ve hit the nail squarely on the head. We knit because it soothes. Granted there are exciting moments (and frustrating ones!), but it truly is a way to take us away. Can you hear that old Calgon commercial? Prayer and knitting are the two activities that transport like no other and the two together…well that’s lovely.
Thank you for this wonderful read!
I love this article, Clara! It’s cleverly written and so much fun to read, not to mention insightful. And the comments are also great!
Thank you, Clara
Ahhh, where am I, always a favorite game! I just played it yesterday.
Thanks for the morning chuckle.
Wearing wool challenge accepted! Alas, I only came up with nine wool items, unless socks are counted separately?
Oh socks are most DEFINITELY counted separately!
I feel seen. Thank you, Clara, as always!
I vote for finishing your grandmother’s sweater—that yarn looks glorious!
You are so right!
I did manage to 1)drop a ball that rolled the length of a 600 seat auditorium and 2) later dropped a needle a few times. Note to self – carry the yarn in a bag, only take circular needles to public events or on airplanes.
I love this so much. I’m personally a blue ribbon winner (loser?) at Yarn Chicken and Where Was I
I am on Episode 5 of Game of Wool (available in US on You tube) and I am really enjoying it. The knitters are talented and friendly and I like them. They are not competing for a million pounds so not really intense. Actually the best knitter of each episode gets a Sheep badge. The knits each week are exciting and new to me which keeps me viewing!
I agree. Sure, we knit for pleasure and community, not competition; but, the show shines a light on some amazingly creative and talented knitters who genuinely seem to like each other. Is it a bit contrived? Yes. But it’s a pleasant enough to watch.
Great post Clara!
And I loved the picture of you in your many knits. I can totally identify with your fogged up glasses! Ha ha
Agree with you about Game of Wool, it’s not for me either, especially since so many of the projects are crochet. I hope all those contestants get PTSD counselling afterwards for the crazy making things they’re asked to do.
Love all your suggestions for Game of Wool.
Loved this post. So reassuring to those of us knitters who are not fast nor experts but love to knit.
Like that mended sweater pic. Is it a real pattern. Fun to do as a winter scarf too.
THANK you, Clara. I noticed the previews of the show and knew it wasn’t for me, although my best wishes to Tom. Give me a slow challenge any day. And my yarn ball ran away from me upon landing. It was retrieved by nice folk who were glad to be on vacation, too.
Great article Clara! Thanks.
Too funny 🙂 and all too true! Most of us have played all of your “games” and them some. I had such an epic yarn chicken fail once that I posted it on Instagram
I love this. I have played so many of these games.
All those types of shows—baking, glass blowing, clothes making, portrait painting, landscape painting, etc, now knitting—I like to watch, although haven’t seen the knitting show, but can’t imagine being a contestant under pressure to do any of those things! But I do like seeing people create things—that’s inspiring. The contestants usually say it’s the friendships they’ve made that were the best part. I only hope those participating aren’t scarred by the experience cuz they must be good to be there & have the personality to wanna do it.
“But I do like seeing people create things—that’s inspiring”
Yes! Exactly this. Give us more shows with people making cool things without the drama.
Does this count? : sheared Omar, our almost black crossbreed ram about 1982, moved to CA, spun his wool sometime much later, (re)discovered the yarn this fall (2025)and knitted a woolly hat for my daughter’s significant other. Keep the moths out and it lasts forever. And I doubt I’ll outlive my stash….
I have been in A knitting funk this whole year, only managing to produce A couple of hats. I feel like A lost beginner all over again. Sitting by my recently frogged project I long on time to repair and create!
What A wonderful gift you have for writing Clara! I found myself smiling as I remembered dropping my ,in air , ball of yarn and have the entire row of passengers roll up and pass my yarn ball back to me! Renewed faith in humanity!
Finding the time to actually sit down and knit has become A precious thing, having it timed would not!
I’m saving this perfect article!
I laughed out loud this morning. GIven the news, this is a feat! I have an entry where I dropped a ball of yarn at a minor league baseball game, it bounced down several rows of bleachers, and fellow fans ‘pitched’ it back to me!
SCORE!
Hurrah!
We all win
Your grandmother’s yarn choice was AMAZING. The subtle color variations are perfection. I’d buy that tomorrow if I could!
Thank you so much, Clara! This was a joy to read, and I am/have been on every single one of these teams 🙂
Love! Love! Love!
I love this. I feel the same way about all the categories. We could also add lifting combined weights of projects in project projects and who wins on total weight.:)
I meant project bags.
Yes, this is your best article so far, love it! All true and also hilarious. Living in New Mexico I so look forward to the few days when I can play How Many Knits Can I Wear At Once. Didn’t know socks count as 2 so my max is 6: socks, sweater, scarf, hat and mitts. Seriously considering moving to Shetland while looking longingly at their intense winter storms – where everyone wears lots of woolies.
I think that counts as seven… if the socks count for two, then I imagine the mitts count for two also… right??
After New Mexico sunshine and blue skies would you be prepared for lots of gray skies to go with all those woolies?
I’ve played a few of these, but I think you forgot a couple: “What Was I Going to Make With This Weird Yarn?” and the ever-popular “Stash Dive,” in which competitors rummage through their stash to find enough of the right weight yarn to complete a given project.
Great article! I can certainly identify with all your games.
Hi, I love all your books and this article was great as usual.
Another game played at my house is how long can the cat in my lap resist swatting and capturing the yarn I am knitting—a thriller for sure.
All best to you
Ohhhh, cats open up a whole OTHER collection of games, don’t they?
LOVE this . As always you hit the nail on the head with humor and truth. There is no winning in knitting. It is just a weaving together of all the different threads to make a beautiful fabric.
I’ve been trying to decide if I can put knitters to work finding a lost item, in much the way Clara describes finding wool. Specifically – I knit a baby blanket for my great-niece. I foolishly sent it to the wrong address – entirely my fault, and not the fault of the recipients. When I finally realized, they went back to that address, and although the persons living in the apartment acknowledged it had arrived, they had turned it in to the office, and the notoriously unhelpful office claimed no knowledge and did not have the package. I’ve been surprisingly sanguine about this – I will simply have to knit another one. BUT – I do wonder if I could put out an AKB (All Knitters Bulletin) and if it would turn up in one of those “returned packages” christmas videos, or in a thrift shop in Broken Arrow, OK.
I’ve seen lost knitting tracked down when left on planes, trains and automobiles, but this seems quite a bit more difficult. Thoughts?!
Amen! I refuse to watch ‘Game of Wool’ for all the reasons you share. Knitting is an act of love, art, and community. Thanks and happy knitting.
I couldn’t agree more with you Clara. I live in UK and have watched, through my fingers, this awful programme. The whole concept is just wrong. The presenter wears the most ridiculous outfits as do the judges. There is nothing inspirational or appealing that would encourage anyone to take up knitting or crochet. I watch in disbelief and fascination as I knit slowly. The contestants are a lovely group who must wonder why they got involved – apart from becoming minor celebrities I suppose
Maybe they had the same levels of hopes for the show that we did? I’m sure it all transpired much differently than the highly edited and condensed version that aired…
I want to finish that sweater! What interesting yarn. My favorite games are yarn chicken and catch the ball (sometimes in church!)
I knit in church, too! It helps me focus on the sermon.
Loved reading this article!
Oh this is so, so good. You made me laugh .And here I was down in the doldrums because the Delivery that was to be placed by my front door was somewhere else.I did hobble all the way to the front gate only to find the package damaged! Anyways, Life is still full of fun .
I would enjoy watching the sheep to shawl process, but definitely not a frantic game to be the first to complete a sweater, while in competition with others. I’m a fast knitter, but hate deadlines, and it does seem to be the opposite of what knitters are all about.
One of the best gifts of knitting is Clara Parkes
Loved this article – knitting should always be guilt free!
Today’s article has already made the rounds in our What’s App knitter’s group, so I know we’ll be discussing it when we meet today.
One ‘game’ I play with myself is being aware of, or remembering important events which took place as I was knitting a project…the white, way too loosely knit, huge shawl I was knitting in high school when RFK jr. was assassinated, the knitting I’ve barely focused on when keeping my husband company during his chemo treatments, my knitting has kept me company, soothed my anxiety, or brought me joy in the midst of so many crises!
I am currently playing the “ How many things can I knit out of the purple yarn from this GIANT sweater I knit in 1972?”
This was lovely. Thank you for sharing
What a wonderful article! I haven’t seen any episodes of Game of Wool, but just based on the premise of it I know I don’t need to! Knitting is my yoga, my joy! I have played most of your games. And I’m still struggling with a multi-generational Can I finish this project. Struggling only because it’s a crochet and not a knit project. And for me crochet is a distant 2nd to knitting!
Thanks for this. I like that knitting is having a more public moment, but I agree that it isn’t showcasing the spirit of knitters and the knitting community that you so aptly described. I think another round in our game would be a collaboratively knit item – with the goal of having everyone’s gauge be equal and then the judges would be challenged to guess who knit which part!
This is so true! I get anxious when I try to play Wridges, a work find game I play on the Washington Post. You only get one minute and my heart rate soars. I cannot imagine what timed knitting would do. I don’t even think I could watch it. I would have to be on blood pressure medication. Thanks for a funny, witty article.
Enjoyed your writing!
Another meaningful and witty article, thanks Clara.
“What everyone else said” re: the true meaning of knittinng. Stay calm and knit on, and on and on….
PS the sheep in the photo are adorable.
I absolutely loved the article! Thank you
As a delightfully slow knitter, I give myself permission to enjoy the process. Possessing a few UFO’s, I’m happy to accomplish the completion of a couple this year!
I agree that competition is fine for cakes, but sweaters? Not so much!
Enjoyed reading this very much, it did make me giggle, so many scenarios I could concur with. We, here in Scotland are not very sure what to make of Game of Wool either. I’m glad someone ( Tom Daley) has brought knitting onto the TV and shown that knitting is for anyone that is interested in giving it a go. I’d love to plan out how this series could have been better approached. I had to laugh at the episode of a knit deck chair, who the hell wants that? Bonkers.
Thank you for the lovely Other Games of Wool article. It expresses much of what I enjoy about knitting with wool (or something other! ).My grandmother taught me to knit before she died when I was 4, I have progressed over the last 75 years and enjoyed every Item I have knitted for myself and others. My 22 year old granddaughter has just discovered the joys of knitting and so, on these dark winter evenings, we knit together. I think she has caught the bug, her stash is growing weekly and she is loving wearing something she has made and created. Like myself she tweaks the patterns to satisfy her own needs!!
Ha ha! i JUST FINISHED a game of chicken, and I won. I needed enough Liberty Wool Print which was discontinued years ago to do an icord frame around a Hoover (Knitty pattern) baby blanket. 3 years ago, a volunteer on Ravelry sent me one lone ball to finish the center of the blanket – but would it make it around the edge? Yes!
I got one of those yarn minders that hangs from the wrist and is supposed to twist off the yarn. Didn’t like it for my knitting group but it is glorious for travel. Five days in I haven’t had a single yarn problem and no yarn was lost in a car or plane.
Brilliant assessment! I can speak from the members of my knitting group across the Bagaduce River in Sedgwick, we have all played your games!
Thank you for this. I have left knitting groups because of the competitive atmosphere. I also dont do book groups because I read to relax,just like knitting.
Do you play the game of “How old will I be if I live to make all the patterns in my Ravelry Favorites?”
It’s a favorite of mine. As of last calculation, I will be older than Methuselah.
I won a knitting game as a raffle prize at an event in January. It’s called Last Knitter Standing. It involves a spinner and cards with trivia questions and skill challenges. Every one is for only 10 stitches at a time. We played it at our retreat in April! It’s much harder to knit with your eyes closed when a timer is involved. We enjoyed it, and some of the newer knitters added to their knitting vocabulary.
I am loving the golden browns in the Swedish wool of the unfinished sweater from your grandmother. Did she include instructions for what she was knitting?
Love this Clara! In fact, Imlove everything you write about wool.
Excellent!
We are knitters. Not contestants.
I so much enjoy your “essays” on knitting….just as you, I Knit for my own fun and entertainment and do not aspire to be in a reality show…..just my relatives and friends make me a winner when I see them wearing my “exclusive designs”…
Clara, I chuckled several times. How true your comments and knitting insightful moments. I did very well thus year with starting in October. I made 6 market bags and now beginning soap cozy bags for organic soap. All my friends get one this year. I also made 1 hat with another on the way. I am
Confident I will finish. However I know I will not complete Sarah’s Schira penguin with textured yarn. Oh well. Maybe it will be a new years present. I am just a knitter that goes from one project to the next. Happy holidays
I was willed a pile of granny squares by my mother-in-law, I sewed them together into an afghan and now my granddaughter proudly has it. I’ve heard of slow food, but slow wool?
I’m not sure if they still hold it but there used to be a heavy metal knitting competition in Finland where the knitter had to knit in time to their heavy metal band. Not my favourite type of music but it sure shattered the granny in the rocking chair image.
One of my favorite games is the “Can you help me with this yarn barf” game. I always win!
Your article is spot on, and I am so glad you wrote it…it cheers me on!
On behalf of Britain and especially its amazing knitters and crocheters, I can only apologise for this dreadful knitting show that we have been subjected to in the UK – and obviously beyond. Like many on these beautiful isles, I am ashamed and embarrassed.
Who, I wonder came up with the idea of condensing a slow, mindful and (usually) pleasurable experience into a 12-hour manic dash to create something absurd should be banned for life from working in media, along with those awful judges, one of whom seems to find the need to cry every time she’s on camera. And what is with the scarecrow look?
When I first heard about the show (through leaflets in my local wool store looking for contestants), I wondered how the format could work, and after much discussion, we all came to a similar conclusion – perfectly formed swatches of really, really tricky lace, beautiful colourwork panels, or maybe tiny versions of complete garments that didn’t take a month to complete. Oddly, not one of came up with the idea of dog outfits or deckchairs!
I have tried to watch the series in order to form an unbiased opinion, but I’ve finally admitted defeat, and have retreated to the sanctity of my knitting sofa, where calm can usually be restored after a couple of mindless, peaceful rounds of ‘proper knitting’.
Knitters, Britain apologies to you x
Well said Clara. I had to walk away from this series very early in the first episode – knitting is my stress relief not inducer. And yes I am a champion in all the sports you have mentioned .
I love your games and I have played a number of them. Thanks for sharing your spin on knitting competitions.
I love the show. It’s entertaining.
I really identify with this. Well done!
I haven’t knitted for years but seeing the programme I felt the need to root out my needles and start again.Enjoying myself sorting out patterns.I had a stroke a few years ago so this will be ideal for me as I can’t get around too much.
This is amazing! I’m sitting at my desk attempting to work in New Zealand and am laughing out loud, especially at the final picture of unfinished project. I was feeling bad for having a shawl cardigan two years on without the sleeves. It’s very hot here just now but I’m determined to finish my shawl (a lovely free pattern from Purl Soho if I’m allowed to say that on the MDK blog!). Monique