Knitting Vessels

I recently posted about my knitting progress with a scarf for my sister, and Gaia (who has some extraordinary embroidery shown on her blog) commented on my little pottery bowl that held my knitting.  That got me thinking about the different knitting "vessels" I use to tote my knitting around.

 

I used to sew quite a lot, and over the years I got my sewing area into a very nice set up with a large table, storage cabinet and some decorative tins for storing small notions.  But then I got away from sewing as I tried my hand at knitting. 

 

Knitting is such a portable craft (unlike sewing, unless you've got some hand work to do), but I found as a beginning knitter the ball of yarn sitting beside me on a chair would bounce around as I knit and end up on the floor ... most annoying!  So I started searching out different vessels to hold my knitting supplies as I moved from room to room and out of doors with my knitting in tow.  Do you do this?  Or do you have a knitting "nook" with a special chair and that is the sacred knitting spot.

 

I started out by getting my knitting "station", and picked up this tiny table at the thrift store last summer. 

It's a great size, quite light-weight, and it has a handy shelf below.  I believe it's an Ikea end table (there were two at the store, but the other one was damaged).  It's perfect to use as my knitting station.  I can put my laptop (always looking for knitting tips on the web) or a basket of yarn on the bottom shelf, and have my work-in-progress on the top with a cup of tea :)

 

Next I started searching for a vessel to hold my yarn as I worked.  I started out with various pottery bowls and a large wooden bowl to put my yarn in as I was knitting.  The bowls (being round-sided), just allowed the ball of yarn to roll right out of the bowl, and before I knew it, I'd be knitting with yarn on the floor again ... no good when you have a furry Australian Shepherd at your feet ... I know some people actually knit using dog fur, but I don't like to see stray bits in my knitting ;)   But I saw this nice little straight-sided bowl in the thrift store, and find it's really good for a small ball of yarn, and the straight sides keep the yarn from bouncing out of the bowl!

 

This little tin planter is another thrift store find.

 

 

I don't believe it was ever used for plants, as there are no scratches in it, and no rusty bits either.  This tin is what I use outside on the patio, or when we're camping (or as a passenger in the truck).  It can be dropped and it won't break, and it's a perfect size.  I always worry about glass and pottery breaking on our patio, since we often step out there in our bare feet in the summer.  Of course, all of my fears were realized one day this summer when our entire glass-topped patio table was lifted in a high wind and crashed down and broke into a million pieces on the patio!  Poor Cody must've thought the world was ending when I found him cowering under shrubs in the garden. 

 

Now these cute little boxes I picked up at the dollar store.

 

 

They're only paper-covered cardboard, but they are so handy for a small knitting project! I love the flowery paper on the interior ;)  I picked up these two, but plan on getting a couple more.  I think they'll look so cute all lined up in a row with my projects in full view and waiting to be worked up!  They come in various colours too, so I'm going to look for some in blue next.  These are great because my long knitting needles don't fall out when the knitting is having a rest ;)

 

 

How about you?  Do you have special boxes & totes for carting your knitting or hand-work around your house?

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Wendy