Knit for Rachel, Purl for Leah

Jacob was a shepherd... Shepherds herd sheep. Sheep give wool. People knit with wool... thus today's shpeil:

Did you know that Knitting can be a meditative process? Ask any avid knitter and they will tell you it is so. I personally find I am calmer and more attentive when I have a pair of knitting needles in my hands. I fidget less, concentrate more. I only wish it were not a major faux pas to knit during services.

Mikaya is a Knitting Jew. Look at the lovely Menorah Pillow she created as a gift for a friend. I am looking forward to featuring Tikkun Knits soon... she is quite a knitter and combines her yarn with her faith like no one else I have seen. Read more about Knitting Jews!

Knit Happens
Bubbe's hobby turns hip as Jewish college girls and young career women discover that taking up yarn and needles provides both tangible and intangible rewards.
By Robin K. Levinson

It's not to attend services. Or to meet guys or to buy kosher food. Some Jewish college students are setting foot in their campus Hillel for the first timeto knit. They're hooked on one of the hottest hobbies among young women today. Yes, knitting is cool again.

Knit 1, purl 2 and its variations haven't changed too radically over the centuries. But other aspects of the handicraft have changed, including knitter demographics, the scope of hand-knit garments being made, and the wall hangings, iPod cozies, pocketbooks and other eye-catching objects dropping off knitting needles these days. Helping fuel the trend are the stunning array of yarns that have emerged over the last five yearsand, of course, the Internet.



Taos, N.M., knitter and mortgage broker Nancy Diamond creates decorative totem poles made of knitted pieces patched onto PVC pipe.
The seminal 2004 book Stitch 'n Bitch and its sequels have spurred the formation of hundreds of new-wave knittingcircles around the country and the world. With names like the Stitchin' Chicks, the groups are attracting young women who are boldly unraveling the stereotype of bubbe knitting baby booties in her rocking chair. Keying into its meditative quality, some people have dubbed knitting "the new yoga."
Hip Knits! 65 Easy Designs From Hot Designers is among several recently published books that cater to the younger set. The Internet is a networking nexus for knitters who need information, instruction, inspiration, self-expression or people with whom to knit. Knitting blogs abound. If you're too busy to peruse your local yarn shop, you can order any conceivable knitting supply online. You can also order a sexy "Born to Knit Jr." spaghetti tank ($17.99) sporting a skull with knitting-needle crossbones. Move over, Bruce Springsteen.

The popularity of knitting among younger generations has always waxed and waned, but the current surge of interest is particularly robust, surveys show. Since 2002, the percentage of female knitters under age 34 in the United States has more than doubled, according to the Craft Yarn Council of America (CYCA). Nationwide, it's estimated there are more than 38 million knitters, 4 million of whom are relative newbies. The remainder of the article can be found here.