Knitting not just for old ladies anymore

When most college students think of knitting; the immediate image in their minds is probably from Looney Toons, where some character is sitting around knitting a sweater a mile a minute, and probably holding their needles improperly. It's a sad stereotype that knitting is only done by cartoons and grandmothers, one that couldn't be further from the truth.

Knitting has had a huge revival in past years because of a hearkening back to hand-made things. The DIY (Do It Yourself) Revolution has made a major impact in the way we view knitting, bringing it back into popularity so that these days, you probably know at least one or two people who are younger than 70 that knit.

There are some good reasons behind all that knitting too! It is a nice hobby yes, a great way to fill up free time, but there are so many other things that knitting is great for. Knitting is first of all easy. A pair of needles, a ball of yarn, and a Youtube tutorial can have you churning out scarves in no time! It's pretty cheap, which makes it ideal for a college student, buying a skein of yarn and some needles is maybe $10, whereas buying a winter scarf could cost you $20-30.  

Exam time is coming up, meaning buckets of stress over papers, final exams, and just getting through classes with all this distracting warm weather is hard. Knitting can be great stress relief. A small project doesn't take much time either, and it's really awesome to have someone ask where you got your hat.  

Knitting is super portable as well, even larger projects like sweaters or blankets can pretty easily fit in a large tote bag or a backpack for taking on long car rides or even just for working on a little before class. Don't think you have to jump straight into large projects like that though, there's a huge range of difficulty to knit projects, from a simple garter stitch scarf to a fair isle sweater.  

What else is great about knitting? Well those easily portable projects can be great gifts. It shows you really care about someone when you take the time and effort to actually make something for them. Plus, those gifts, like most knitting, are useful! There aren't many people that would go a winter without a scarf or hat! Admittedly, knitting is less useful in the summertime, but there are plenty of patterns out there for cotton tank tops or pretty lace headbands.

So, are you ready to knit? A couple of quick Google searches will get you on your way, but if you're looking for the best place for everything knitting, check out Ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com has an amazing system of pattern searching, yarn finding, group accumulating, and any other tool you could imagine. It's also totally free, which is a nice bonus! Happy knitting!