Ask any knitter why they knit, and you'll get an incredulous look. "Why knit?" asks Elizabeth Boyle, the mother of two boys from Seattle, Wash. "Oh, goodness, if you were a knitter you wouldn't even ask that."

For long-time knitters, continuing while pregnant comes naturally. "Knitting is something that is so much a part of motherhood, whether you are expecting your first or your fifth," Boyle says. "Knitting a project is just like expecting a baby."

What makes knitting perfect for that nine months waiting for your baby to arrive? "Knitting is relaxing," says Marie Connolly, author of The Expectant Knitter: 30 Designs for Baby and Your Growing Family (Potter Craft, 2008). "The movement of the needles, working with wonderful fibers, creating special garments/gifts for your new baby, it is all a wonderful way to connect to the new baby. And in the end, the finished pieces help to link the pregnancy to the post delivery. Nine months can be a blur, but you can remember the knitting and enjoy the garment/gifts long after the pregnancy is over."

For relaxation, few things beat the clacking of needles as you express your creativity with fibers from acrylics to silks, wool to cashmere. "It is meditative, contemplative, quiet and reliable," Boyle says. "It is there when you need just a few moments to de-stress and when you have a few hours to curl up and finally have some 'me time.'"

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