Non-knitters always say to me "you must have patience to be a knitter." My answer, "No, not really. I have stubbornness, a fairly wicked creative streak, and love having something in my hands." My knitting helps me relax, it challenges me, it fills up time that I would otherwise annoy the crap out of me (like when your doctor is running an hour late). It's made me realize that I am an extremely tactile person and yarn gives me an excuse to rub something up against my cheek make a happy noise without being looked at like I've grown a second head. But patience? I knit a lot of small things like fingerless gloves and mitts. Even when I am knitting a sweater or a blanket the larger whole is broken down into smaller component parts and every sleeve or square is a victory. I would not exactly call myself patient.
Lace knitters. Lace knitters are where the patience is at. Those knitters have it in spades. I will gush over another knitter's lace shawl. I will flip through my copy of Victorian Lace Today and be inspired by the beautiful knitted work. I look at the very simple lace shawl that I started in March of 2009 and try to convince myself that it will be finished one day. But, aside from a little bit of lace in a pair of socks, or in something like Ishbel which is really mostly not lace, I am not a lace knitter. It's not something I can relax and get into the groove of when I'm knitting it. The thought of spending 45 minutes on a single row, and then probably having to rip things out a million times, frustrates me to no end. I bow down to knitters who can overcome these obstacles and who produce those glorious knitted works.
So the answer to the question what do I aspire to is really very simple.
- Lace
- Patience
I'm joining you on the lace theme. Ishbel has been my limit so far too!
ReplyDeleteHaving just flirted with lace, and its many challenges and frustrations, all I can say is: I can't wait to try something more lacy! :) Whether I'll survive it is another matter LOL!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try lace too and to develop patience XD
ReplyDeleteYou are right about patience. It sucks to have to rip out mistakes after the time spent, but I remind myself that it's worth it in the end b/c I'm doing things right and learning at the same time + it'll get easier. I also find that if I set a reasonable goal to knit a bit a day, then at least I feel like I'm making progress on the project.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of lace patterns that are more rhythmic and easy to memorize than Ishbel's lace! I knit that one twice, and still never memorized it.
ReplyDeletePatience? Knitting gives me patience; if my hands were empty while I was waiting for things, I'd go nuts.