In the process of planning a knitting retreat for the Sunflower Knitter’s Guild, I was making plans with a fellow member when she had a great idea from previous retreats she’s attended: a movie night with Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the WereRabbit and Shaun the Sheep. I love it! Imagine how awesome it would be to see that with like-minded folks rather than your non-knitter associates who look at you like you’re crazy whenever knitting comes on the tv.
Probably the only thing I love as much as yarn is movies, so here is my list of my favorite movies with yarn in them:
I had quite the Keanu Reeves phase, let me tell you. I found this romantic tragedy during just such that phase, and would probably have never seen it otherwise. Keanu plays the workaholic adman who’s been fired and dumped and Charlize Theron promises she can change his life if he lives with her for a month (November, in fact). They fall in love, Charlize is dying of cancer, it ticks all of the boxes, including awesome knitting. Charlize’s character is a big knitter (if I were dying of cancer, I’d quit my job and knit all day too), and there’s some great pieces in the movie including this shawl.
One fall break in college, a few band kids and I hit the road for Pigeon Forge, TN. We were hanging out in the hotel room one of those nights, and we find Wet Hot American Summer is on. I laughed so hard when Amy Poehler crochets a ripple afghan in a matter of minutes, and if you aren’t yarn enthused you might just miss it!
My love for Miyazaki movies is pretty boundless, and this is the film that started it all. Chihiro goes to the witch Zeniba to save her friend, and she picks up some new friends along the way. One of them, a monster named No-Face, is a great knitter. Another, who is also the witch’s nephew who she turned into a hamster, sticks needles into a tangle of yarn that he moves up and down. I know it sounds insane, look at this gif. I chuckle every time I see it.
I know Morticia Addams knits in the original tv show, too, but I love this movie so much. Angelica Huston is so glamorous, and the picture of her knitting in this film is a staple in the online knitting community.
This film has a special place in my heart, period. It was the first movie I saw multiple times in theaters. I was eight when it came out, and eleven when I started to crochet. So, thereafter, imagine how amazing it was when Kuzco asks about Pancha’s poncho:
KUZCO: “Feels like wool.”
PANCHA: “Yep.”
KUZCO: “Alpaca?”
PANCHA: “Oh, yea, it is… My wife made it.”
KUZCO: “Oh, she knits?”
PANCHA: “Crochets.”
KUZCO: “Crochets, nice.”
Little kid me always got so excited when this scene would play, and it still fills me with joy almost twenty years later.
What are your favorite yarn references in movies? Maybe I haven’t seen them yet, and I’m always looking for new movies!
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