THE DAILY CHUM

Entry 7 Get into the Group (Hostess With the mostest – part 3)

This week, continuing the series about hosting knitters, I’m writing about group projects. These are projects where a group of knitters get together to work on the smaller parts of a larger project. This is the article that stymied me for two weeks; it’s not that I didn’t have things to say, but I lack personal experience with it, so I sat down and got in contact with a couple of knitters who really know what they’re doing when it comes to group projects, but we aren’t quite ready to debut that yet, so you get my fairly inexperienced thoughts about group projects, and the tantalizing prospect of an interview to come.


The thing about group knitting is that it needs a purpose. One knitter can just mess around with yarn and needles and wind up with a finished project they like, but when a group is knitting something together they need a little more guidance. A group project should break up the work of a larger project into smaller sections that each group member can work on themselves, often for gifts or charity. The best known, probably most widely used form of group knitting is the Afghan. You know the drill, everyone knits a square, or a rectangle, or even a hexagon, and then you all get together to sew them into a finished piece. The Circle of Friends Blanket (Ravelry link, sorry non-Ravelers) from Last Minute Knitted Gifts is a classic and beautiful example of this principle. Additionally, the design looks lovely in almost any yarn, and in any setting, showing that group knitting is not limited to babies, but can go to a dear friend as a housewarming, or farewell present, or to an elderly relative from her knitting children or grandchildren. For a group with more ambition, may I suggest the Lizard Ridge Afghan from Knitty? I may not be able to afford the 21 balls of Noro the pattern calls for, but I could swing for one or two to do a couple of blocks from this afghan for a good friend.
Of course, Afghans and blankets are not the only game in town. Another fairly common kind of group project is to make a set of something. Alison “Charmed Knitter” Hansel and her Knitsmith friends have, on a couple of occasions, made sets of baby items for a baby shower.

This principle could apply to more than just baby showers, groups could make coasters for housewarmings, slippers for someone whose feet are always cold, or do a hat exchange at Christmas. They are all group projects, they involve a group of knitters making something and then getting together, which is the real point of a group project. I’ve never seen it done, but I think a group could get together to make a whole outfit for someone, there are tons of cute baby clothes and I would respect forever a group who made an outfit for an adult friend, especially whoever did the underwear. Even KAL’s like Sockapalooza (also run by Alison, gee…I should have interviewed her…) have a group knitting aspect, because hopefully, you wind up with two new friends at the end.

Erin is…probably in Minnesota somewhere. She adorns the land of 10,000 lakes yarn stores with her glorious presence and profound geekiness. Erin knits, when she is not studying, singing herself hoarse, and reading whatever comes into her notice. Erin also enjoys speaking in the third person

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