Wed 16 Apr 2008
Last post: decide to design my own pattern for my aunt’s stole
Tonight: find what could have been the perfect pattern.
Humph. I think it’s too late now. The stole is cast on, and the lace has spoken. BadCat’s pattern is very much like what I was looking for, but I think I’m already committed. It’s not like me to use a pattern, and it’s even less like me to stop designing in favor of someone else’s pattern once I’ve started. That didn’t stop me from heading straight over to Ravelry and buying it. Some patterns are ones that you think about and plan for and hunt for the perfect yarn to match (Susan’s Arabian nights is an example…have you seen her Iris pattern, by the way? It’s looking lovely already…). Some you just go and buy without a clear end in mind (the honeybee was one of those). I wonder what makes the difference?
I usually love the process of waiting for a pattern and a yarn. The planning is actually one of my favorite parts of a project. I’d rather think about it for a month or so before buying anything than to go out and find something right away. The steeping is part of the joy. I think that’s why I like big projects; they give me time to enjoy the process, and as I begin to get bored I can start to think about the next. Something that only takes a week to knit is a bit jarring. It’s done before I have time to decide what’s next, and then I have nothing to knit while I ponder. I prefer things that unfold slowly, gracefully, blooming in the fullness of time (isn’t that a beautiful phrase?). It’s like a strain of music that fades slowly away, or a taste that lingers on your tongue. Slow pleasures, drawn out pleasures. Things that require your full presence and attention to appreciate. What’s your favorite kind of knitting?
I find that I am both a process and a product knitter, and that I like having one of each kind of project on the needles. There are those projects that I like to do just because I think I'll enjoy knitting them, or because I want to see if I can do them, which are very process-y, and which I feel no need to see finished very quickly. And then there are other kinds of things which I enjoy knitting, but which I also enjoy either wearing or seeing someone else wear. But I know exactly what you mean about the lovely mulling-over process, while I'm trying to figure out what fun thing I'll knit next. I'm there right now, and it's rather fun!
I suppose I prefer it when everything just sort of falls together without too much agonizing on my part. I enjoy the process of knitting, but the matching of yarn to pattern – specifically when I have a pattern already – is less enjoyable. If I have a pattern, I usually also get in my mind what the ideal yarn would be – and then I can't find it. But when the yarn and pattern come together effortlessly – bliss! I also tend to have lots of projects on the needles, which helps with the "what do I knit next" problem. Of course, it also makes it feel like everything takes forever to finish!