My last few posts have been very sombre. My family issues are still at the forefront of my mind, but I refuse to let my Blog365 project become Sob365. So to take my mind off things and to be a more interesting writer, I will be breaking up the drama with other topics. Like this...
I wish that I had the patience to knit. I love hand-knit sweaters, scarves, socks, you name it. I love strolling through yarn stores, filled with gorgeous colours and textures. Generally, hand-crafts appeal to me.
But apparently this isn't enough to motivate me. Over the years, I have started three scarves and one sweater (knitted "on the round" with two colours of yarn), and finished nary a one of them.
The planning stage is exciting. Shopping for yarn, likwise. But sometime after row number 47 I start to get bored. My mind wanders. I try knitting while watching TV, and then I screw it up because I'm not paying attention. Eventually the project is laid aside on a handy surface, where I'm sure I'll go back to it in good time.
Time passes. The knitting project is eventually shoved to one side of the table/desk/bureau. When I can't stand to look at it anymore I stuff it in a drawer. From there, it eventually disappears. I don't even know where it goes. Maybe yarn gremlins come in the night to rescue it.
I keep knitting books on my bookshelf, even though I'm 99% sure I won't be attempting any new projects. My favourite is called Knitting Without Tears, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Here are some examples of her distinctive writing style:
"Soft wool from the silly sheep can be fine as a cobweb, tough and strong as string, or light and soft as down."
Regarding celluloid knitting needles: "The famous old fire hazard, but why sit so close to the candle? Extremely brittle; not to be sat upon."
"The human being is so constructed that it can be completely covered by a series of shaped tubes... and we could, if he desired them, make long-johns for an octopus."
And finally, most applicable in my case: "If you hate to knit, why, bless you, don't; follow your secret heart and take up something else." And so I do.
11 comments:
I'm the same way-- my favorite part is buying the yarn. I've made a couple scarves and 1 hat...but I think my crocheting days are pretty much over, lol
Same here too.
I wish I could do it.
My Grandmom and my Mom did / do it.
I just don't have the patience for that ;)
girl please. i don't have the sort of patience required for that. one day i'll post the beading i did on one of my dresses. i just sewed the beads on after my friends strung them. they sat their for hours content. i would've shot myself if i had to string those beads!! my older sister knits and i def want a scarf!!
I love to knit but I have hobby ADD. Every time I start to work on something I see something else I want to do. I have many unfinished projects that every year I swear I will get to.
You should try hats. They're easy and fast and everyone loves hats. OK, I love hats, but still.
Maxie: Oh well. Considering how much more expensive it is to knit a sweater yourself, as opposed to buying one factory-made, I comfort myself by thinking of it as an economical measure. :-)
Nicole: For a while there it seemed to me that every woman who kept a blog was also an avid knitter. Apparently that's not the case. Maybe we should start a club: Bloggers Who Don't Knit.
Jameil: Are you talking about those tiny beads with holes as small as the hole in a sewing needle? That would make my eyes cross. I managed to finish one cross-stitch embroidery in 10th grade, but it was a very small piece.
Kell: It would be useful for me to learn to knit hats, because I have a big head and can't wear most hats designed for women. There are some nice-enough men's hats out there, but it'd be nice to have a girly hat or two, for a change.
I guess I haven't had the urge to knit anything so sign me up for that clup of yours.
I took a knitting class at my town's adult school last year. It was great. I had a lot of fun...AND since then I haven't picked up a knitting needle. But I have have a half-finished scarf in my closet.
Ron: OK, you're in like Flynn. ;-)
Karen: If we united all the half-knitted scarves currently languishing at the backs of closets, think of all the full scarves we could patch together. Or we could put them all together into one really, really long scarf. That would be cool. :-)
The thought of sitting on a knitting needle makes me wince.
Scarves are fun because I can do them while I sit in front of the TV. I started a sweater for my nephew when he was two. He's six now. I have a complete back, an almost complete front, and when I just found it I totally pulled the needle right out of the last row. I'm not a good enough knitter to push through these drawbacks.
Solomon Broad: That would be a bad scene!
Jenski: I guess that's why knitting cafes are getting so popular (at least they are in Toronto). It helps to have some experienced knitters around to motivate you and get you past the fluff-ups. The only time I ever finished crochet projects was when I had a babysitter who knew what she was doing to talk me through it, when I was in grade school.
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