Knitted Twine Baskets, or, Knitting will Organize My Life

One of my greatest domestic failures is my inability to organize. I’ve probably mentioned this shortcoming elsewhere on the blog, but given the current state of my house, it bears mentioning again. Right now I am in the avoidance phase, willing myself to forget the explosion of fabric and yarn and notions that have overtaken more than their fair share of the bedroom, the boxes of toys and clothing waited to be sorted into “keep” and “charity” piles, and the cobwebs that seem to have appeared overnight in the far corners of the living room ceiling.

The house isn’t always in such disarray, but after a long holiday season of nonstop crafting, hosting family, and traveling (and the inevitable messes all these things entail) I needed a couple of weeks to uncoil. And for me, uncoiling does not mean cleaning out the closets and reorganizing the craft stash. Rather, it is lazy evenings with Z, mommy daughter coloring time, and, of course, a healthy amount of knitting.

After icording (that’s a word, right?) my way through a season of Downton Abbey, the guilt began to hit me. But did it inspire me to drop my needles and descend into a fit of tidying? No way. I don’t crumble that easily.  Besides, the future cleanliness of my house depended on my next knitting project: jute twine baskets.

I firmly believe that my organizational shortcomings stem from a lack of storage. Not enough shelves and not enough baskets to cram full of crap and put on those shelves. Of course we have closets, but only three of them are usable and none are anywhere near what one would consider “walk-in.” Then there’s the attic, which could have been a windfall of potential storage space. But the neighborhood squirrels keep finding new points of entry and, for at least part of every year, claim is as their own.

While I cannot immediately solve our shelving problem, I knew that with a little knitting, I could add to our collection of storage containers. Besides, knitting twine baskets was a perfect excuse for me to finally try knitting with something other than yarn. I am a wool lover at heart, but I do enjoy the texture and sturdiness the twine gives these baskets.  The woven sides help them hold their shape without compromising the soft structure.

For picture-taking purposes, I stuffed one with a couple of skeins of my favorite yarn, Brooklyn Tweed Loft, but I envision these knitted twine baskets filled with antique button collections, tiny balls of precious scrap yarn, or even cloth napkins.

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