Do you ever wish that you had MORE TIME to knit or crochet?
Lets face it, life will sometimes just get in the way…but there are a few small ways that you could maximise your crafting time! Here are my top tips for how to fit crochet and knitting into your everyday!
1 – Have a small and portable project that you can take with you in your handbag / car
I’m sure there are lots of times in your day where you have an odd 5-10 minutes here or there that you could make time to knit or crochet…
- Waiting outside in the car whilst collecting the kids / your partner / a takeaway;
- Sitting on (or waiting for) a bus/train;
- Waiting for the kettle to boil / the tea to brew;
- on your lunchbreak;
- when someone else is driving (unless you get REALLY travel-sick like I do, in which case skip this one!)
If you carry something small with you (Afghan squares or socks are great for this) then those odd 5 minutes here or there really add up and pretty soon you have completed your project! (Or buy a bigger handbag like mine! ha!)
2- Learn to knit or crochet without looking
Knitting or crocheting without looking takes practice.
To some people this is probably already “yeah, I do that!”
For others, it might sound scary, but don’t worry it will come with practice. Being able to do this frees up a WHOLE LOAD of time for you!
Watching telly becomes full on crochet-time or knit-time, even if you get too gripped by whatever you’re watching and just do it in the advert-breaks, that’s a whole load of extra time.
3 – Motivate yourself with some quick projects
You know what it’s like, when you have a big project on the go (like I do at the moment with my Last Dance on the Beach blanket!) it’s hard to stay motivated when it seems like there is a mountain to climb to finish it.
Try casting on a pair of socks, or hooking up a bobble hat / summer shawl. They get finished faster and (if you’re anything like me, that will spur you on to complete other things!)
4 – Stop using your time to daydream on Ravelry – use it to create instead!
I’m sure I’m not the only one that spends time getting distracted by all the lovely patterns on Ravelry….
…suddenly, 2 hrs have gone by, I have 20 new things in my library or queue, if I’m REALLY uncontrolled, I’ll have sussed out the yarn I need to buy (and possibly even bought it) for my favourite one!
Really I should have been spending the time just crocheting or knitting…in the end its just counter-productive…
5 – Stop printing off your patterns…and losing them…
OK, I know what I said about Ravelry and daydreaming…
What it is GREAT for though is storing patterns. By keeping them in Ravelry you’ll always know where they are!
I’m terrible at stuffing a pattern I’ve printed in the bottom of my bag and losing it. Or being super-organised about taking my project somewhere with me but forgetting to take the pattern. After all, its a really simple pattern, I can’t possibly need to check out [insert ANYTHING here]! oh yes…I do…..
By having them all on Ravelry, any device I have that is connected to the internet can have me checking the pattern in minutes. For my main “WIPS” I also store a copy on my phone so I can check it even in those pesky signal black-spots!
6 – Learn to knit / crochet and walk…
I’ve never tried this, frankly it sounds HARD, I’m slightly worried about Hannah over at Quiet Water Craft who has recently learned how to do this. I’m worried she’ll end up in a bin / walking into a lamp-post!
I really hope she doesn’t though!!!
….maybe I’ll give it a go. I sometimes walk to work and that takes nearly an hour. Whilst that’s two extra hours crochet time in my day, I do walk along a canal, so may be a bit risky!
So those are my tips or how you could make more time to knit or crochet!
Do you have any tips to make more time to knit or crochet you can share?
Feel free to leave your ideas in the comments below! 🙂
Happy Hooking / Knitting!
Jo
x
I need to get better at squeezing craft time in, thanks for the tips 😊
no problem! it’s really not easy is it!
Lol I am so bad about spending time on ravelry when I could be knitting!
me too! 😂😂
I’ve tried walking and knitting at the same time, but unless it’s a REALLY simple project it’s not worth the time it takes to correct the errors I’ll inevitably make.
Knitting without looking, though, is great! This is the only way I can knit in the car, because I also get motion sick if I look down too much on car trips. Of course, I tend to be the one doing most of the driving these days, so no knitting during car trips for me anyway. Ah well.
I’m not sure I’m brave enough to give it a go!!
and yes. please don’t knit whilst driving. at least not until they have invented self- driving cars!
I reckon you should give it a go at least once, I’ve managed not to fall in yet!
😂😂 keep up the good work!