Oh, this is one I’m all too familiar with. I did so much knitting when I was pregnant with my son. Endless hours of calm(ish) clicking needles, daydreaming about tiny cardigans and booties. And then life delivered a squishy newborn into my arms and I’ve been chasing that glorious knitting downtime ever since. Newborn stage, baby stage, toddler stage. Each phase brings its own delightful set of problems to navigate.

And outside of motherhood? Well, we’re also somehow supposed to juggle work, life admin, relationships, other hobbies… not to mention the occasional attempt at sitting still for five minutes without someone asking for a snack.

So, how do we find the space to keep knitting when real life is elbowing us in the ribs?

The myth of big, perfect blocks of time

First, I’m banishing the idea that you need a pristine, two-hour window before you’re “allowed” to knit. A hot tea steaming, ambient playlist humming – I’m totally guilty of this too. I could wait for the stars to align, but I’ll be waiting a long time (ask me how many untouched WIPs are currently judging me from my bookshelf).

For me, I live and breathe the philosophy of micro-knitting. Five minutes here. Ten minutes there. One row while the pasta cooks. A few rounds while my partner drives the car. Some more while I’m on a video call. Tiny, stolen stitches add up over time, and it helps me stay connected to my creativity without feeling like I’ve failed some unobtainable “ideal crafter” standard (which Instagram is not great at helping me with)!

The gentle schedule

I’m not saying timetable your hobbies down to the minute. That way madness lies. But a bit of casual intention has worked wonders for me.

It could be as simple as setting a “knitting night” once a week. A standing appointment with yourself, like a less stressful management meeting. Maybe habit stack and pair your needles with another habit. I like to either knit during my favourite podcast, or while my little one is playing nicely for twenty minutes (or more like five).

Rather than squeezing productivity from every corner of my life, I’ve found a quiet power in stopping and saying to myself, “this matters to me too”. And I’ve also found the weeks where I’m managed to fit in a couple of extra rows here and there, I feel it. Lighter somehow and like I’ve genuinely taken care of myself a little more.

Reframing the guilt

Here’s the sneaky bit. The more you let guilt creep in (“I should be doing the washing up!” / “Is this selfish?”), the harder I find it gets to pick the needles up at all.

So let’s agree right now: your creativity is not optional decoration, it’s vital self maintenance. Knitting isn’t just another thing on the to-do list. If you’re like me, it’s a part of who you are. And if you honour it, even in small, scruffy, imperfect ways, you’re doing brilliantly. (I need to remind myself to read this back in a couple of weeks when I hit a bump in the road!)

Choose patterns that fit your life right now

Let’s discuss projects. Because sometimes the problem isn’t time, it’s what we’re trying to do with the time we have. If your current WIP is a fingering-weight knitted dress with pleats and 1×1 twisted ribbing for 93cm… it might not be the ideal project for a season where your only quiet moments are in the bathroom (with the door locked).

Take this as a gentle nudge to pick patterns that fit your real life right now, not just your aspirational one. I’ve found no shame in opting for quick wins: a chunky cowl, a baby hat, that one-skein shawl I’ve had queued forever. They bring momentum and build confidence. And most importantly they actually get finished.

If you’re not quite ready to give up your dream of an oversized turtleneck jumper, fair enough. I see you, fellow winter homebody. But I’ve been sandwiching longer, more time-consuming projects between faster knits. That way, I still get the satisfaction of casting off now and then, and the jumper doesn’t become a monument to “that one year I thought I had loads of free time”.

Progress is progress, even if it’s just one sock closer to joy.

Quick(er) knits

Here are a couple of projects I’ve done recently that deliver almost instant satisfaction!

Behold the beautiful Baby Bear Bonnet by Pernille Larson of Knitting For Olive. I’ve made two of these and they’re a lovely two-evening project that flies off the needles, and lots of lovely construction steps that flow neatly from one to the next. A hugely satisfying project, and a lovely gift knit for a mum or dad friend. It’s also a great stash buster too!

I knit up this Gris De Lin cowl by Berangere Cailliau a couple of years ago and loved how engaging it was, whilst using less than one skein! The lace detailing keeps it interesting, but doesn’t slow the pace down. I think I knit this in two evenings, so it really is a great last minute gift knit, or just a great project to cast on to feel a bit of quick progress!

If you don’t have time for a full sweater, but garment knitting is your thing, I’d definitely recommend knitting a slipover! I’ll be honest, I didn’t know when I was making my Friday Slipover by PetiteKnit whether a slipover was really my vibe. I’d never bought one to wear before, but I was seeing them everywhere, so wanted to give it a go. I was over stockinette projects at that point and gravitated towards the beautiful broken rib stitch in this slipover.

According to Ravelry it took me just under a month of knitting to finish this, but I did have a one-year-old at the time, so I’m sure it could be done much quicker. I do remember that it was such a lovely project, and I couldn’t wait to work on it in my evenings. And guess what? I’m a slipover convert – I wear this at least twice a week over shirts or t-shirts, and can’t wait to wear it on its own as it warms up here.

One last thing

Life comes in seasons. Some will be gloriously blanketed in wool, others… will involve knitting exactly one thumb of a mitten before being interrupted seventeen times. Both are perfectly valid. Both are still part of the story. (Can you guess which season I’m in right now?!)

And that yarn isn’t going anywhere. As my stash will attest – that beautiful sweater’s worth of silk mohair will still be there in a year or so, when I might just…just find I have a bit more time to commit to a larger knitting project.

Is this something you struggle with?
Tell me in the comments what’s been your biggest hurdle lately? Have you found any clever little ways to reclaim a few stolen stitches? I’m all ears (and slightly tangled yarn).

Beth x