Knitting Inspiration

Inspiration to create can come from anywhere and anything.  As someone who loves being creative in many ways I find I draw most of my inspiration from nature.  I find flowers to be inspirational, the colors of hydrangeas, the textures of dahlias and the shapes of many different leaves in the garden.  I am a lover of color and for me turning to nature provides the best source for color inspiration anywhere. Color gets me every time and this is what causes me to purchase yarn, even when I don't need it or have a project in mind yet!

So the color gets the yarn in my stash but what makes me pull out my needles and start a new project?  One thing that I think is common for many knitters is the chill in the air that comes in the fall time.  The crisp, cool air starts the amazing process of turning the leaves from the vibrant greens to the oranges, reds, rusts and yellows that we love the autumn time for.  Here again comes the color inspiration I love so much!  But autumn also provides a few other perks, hot apple cider with fresh whipped cream and home made caramel sauce.  Curling up in a chair with a favorite cup filled with a warm beverage, cool crisp autumn air and the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg in the air is the perfect setting to create something magnificent.

Regardless of what gets you knitting, does your pattern come before the yarn or your yarn before the pattern?  What is hot right now on Ravelry’s website is a great place to start and I have found more than one inspiration pattern that is in my library right now.  

Are you a seasonal knitter or a diehard knitter?  Summer can be a great time to switch up the types of projects you are working on.  It is a great time to work with cotton, linen or bamboo fiber.  I also like to switch to smaller projects like socks or hats.  

Whether you knit year round or seasonally I think it would be a crime to not keep looking for inspiration every season and everywhere you look.  Take inspiration from the first bulb to emerge from the still snow covered ground, the crocus, and buy some vibrant violet and saffron colored yarn to tuck away for a rainy day.  When the summer starts to heat up, take influence from the hot pink flesh of a watermelon and the green’s of its rind to stash away a beautiful hand dyed yarn to knit a pair of socks in the coming winter.  The autumn provides motivation to knit from the turning of the trees, now is the time to buy a striping Noro yarn in orange, gold, red and yellow to knit a comfy slouchy hat for the cooler temperatures.  When you draw inspiration year round you will be happy you did come the brisk, grey days of winter.  Whatever inspires you to knit get out your needles and create something beautiful!