Lately, I think I've been too absorbed with the PRODUCT. Too many times, I’ve been knitting under strict deadlines to deliver presents which took the fun out of knitting. Other times, I just wanted to make something, anything, just to get rid of stash yarn. More often than not, these were spontaneous choices, poorly planned and sloppily executed. I didn't really LOVE the pattern, but it fit the gauge of my yarn. It's not surprising that the projects didn’t end up the way I envisioned. Frog.
Recently, I re-evaluated my yarn stash. I also re-evaluated all the other crafts that help me kill time - quilting, sewing, jewelry making, cross-stitching. There just isn't enough time to do EVERYTHING. And I don't think I can EVER completely get through my stash. Which is fine, as I am not very fond of every yarn in my stash anyway.
This led me to re-evaluate and prioritize my knitting projects. I wanted projects where I would enjoy the PROCESS, those that were challenging yet not frustrating:
LIZARD RIDGE
I was always intrigued with the ripples, the yarn, the colors,... I was a little bit ambitious with this project - I chose Option 2, one big lizard ridge block instead of the popular multi-blocks version. So far, I'm on ball 4 (out of 20). The ripple pattern is no longer intriguing but I'm loving the color changes!
IVY LEAGUE VESTI love Eunny Jang's fair isle sweaters, so much that I bought enough yarn for all three of her sweaters in one order. It’s been a while since I’ve knit fair isle and on such small needles. Half way through the waist ribbing and I’m loving it! I almost forgot how enjoyable traditional fair isle could be. I'm a little anxious about the steeking, but I'll worry about it when it comes.
SIDE-TO-SIDE LACE CARDIGAN (VK Fall 2008)
I love lace, but sometimes a lace shawl requires too much commitment - time, sanity, life lines. I love this because it's modern, has enough lace to be feminine and "knit 4 strands together on 4mm needles" to keep the time commitment in check. I haven't even finished the cast on (planning to knit in the round) but here's a pic from the VK Fall 2008 magazine.
I do believe that enjoying the process will enhance the end product.
3 comments:
I was just having this discussion with a crocheter the other evening letting her know what the difference of the two is and how I straddle btwn the two!!
Your last sentence reads PERFECT!!!
(and enjoy Lizard Ridge! :o) )
That's so true...I've been on the road of ripping and redoing of my recent projects but I look forward to having them completed!
That purple cardigan is one of my favourites too. What yarn are you using? I thought of using a thicker yarn ... 4 strands knit together seems a bit of a hustle to me.
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