As I knit in public, I often get asked "is that hard?" I could answer this questions in so many ways. I could rant about the fact that 5 year olds can and DO knit...sometimes for a living in other countries. I could explain that no, it isn't that bad once someone shows you how to do it. I could even say "Heck yes, can you not see that I have 5 needles in this project and I keep losing my stitch count every time the bus driver hits a pothole?" There are about 1,000 things I could think of as a response.
I normally say "No, not really. Some parts are challenging but if I can learn it, anybody can." Then I give a big smile and keep on knitting.
And, truth be told, most of the time the hardest thing about knitting for me is putting it down and doing something else. If anyone asked me which of my hobbies is harder, I would say cooking. Many people can at least cook a few things and they don't go about asking people if that grilled cheese sammie was easy to make. Trust me, making a balsamic reduction or risotto is about 20 times more difficult than anything I've ever knit. And yet people think that cooking is really just something you do. I know not everyone does but most people, if put to the test, could figure out a way to feed a family. Potential starvation is the source of invention.
But, in the past week, knitting has been hard, and not really due to a lack of technical skills.
Shockingly, there were several days recently when I couldn't knit. For a few days, I didn't even want to think about it or look at it. Then, for several more, I rolled mini skeins into balls just to keep my hands touching the yarn. I tried to do some hexapuffs for the Bee Keeper's Quilt but my heart just wasn't in it.
There were three reasons, I think, for this knitting ennui. The first is, after running out of yarn on The CEO's Uncle's socks, I realized that I cannot find the colorway and dye lot information on the Koigu KPPPM I am using. So I need to get to Purl Soho, which has almost every color imaginable and try to match it up...fun. Let's hope I can get in and out without succumbing to temptation.
Without yarn (and halfway through the second sock), I decided to move forward in knitting what I like to call Socks of Love. They are being knit for The CEO's cousin. He is the boyfriend of the person for whom I knit my first pair of Christmas socks. They are a really great couple. And The CEO's Cousin is quite stylish. So I knew I could do something a little more daring with him than most guys. And that's exciting. So I found something not too frou frou but not too simple with a hidden special meaning (more on that later). And The CEO and I picked out some kelly green and white striped camel yarn. I was stoked. The pattern called for toe up socks knit on the Magic Loop and started using Judy's Magic Cast On. That's a ton of magic in those techniques.
For those of you who aren't knitters, the Magic Loop method uses one long circular needle to knit a sock as opposed to several double pointed needles. (Some people can even make both socks at the same time on the Magic Loop but I'm not there yet.)
And I, just COULD NOT understand it. I watched video tutorials, I looked at pictures, I studied, I tried. It wasn't happening. I knew I could just make the darned socks (no pun intended) on DPNs but I wanted to meet this challenge head on. Eventually, I just gave up, shoved the whole thing in my Namaste Hip Holster (thank you, Knitcrate) and decided to live to fight another day. To say it made me feel really sad that I couldn't catch onto a concept that clearly is a pretty strong movement in knitting (aka more than 10 people can do this easily) would be an understatement. So this certainly contributed to my listlessness.
Also contributing was the overload of cortisol that seems ever present in my head. If I could bottle the stuff and sell it, I would be rich. But lately, I don't know. I feel panicked all the time. My mind screams at me that the other shoe is going to drop, that TERRIBLE things are going to happen. And, while one of the reasons I knit it to squelch these feelings and encourage my body to make some helpful chemicals, this time I just couldn't. It felt wrong. I think the magic loop failure made me feel unworthy. So I forced myself to wind mini-skeins into balls until I felt ok.
And then, yesterday, I watch a video tutorial on magic loop and suddenly it made sense. Then, I watched one on Judy's Magic Cast On and thought "Wow, this isn't difficult at all." Last night I did a practice cast on and found it unbelievably doable. So, on the bus this morning, I cast on the new sock and started a toe on my circular email. And here it is:
So I guess the moral of this story is two-fold. The first lesson is that giving up is out of the question. Taking a break for a few days is ok but always try again. What seemed impossible the first time may be comically easy in a few days.
The second is that knitting is not hard, cooking isn't really either...what is hard is LIFE. And look how we are all living it. Sometimes it is ok to be thankful you got out of bed in the morning.
We will see how much I like the Magic Loop as time goes on. I think Judy's Magic Cast On is six kinds of nifty. And also, tonight, in honor of the Eagles second pre-season game and in keeping with the fact that The CEO and I are working to be beach ready in 6 weeks, I will be making peanut butter protein balls.
NoM
~EK
I normally say "No, not really. Some parts are challenging but if I can learn it, anybody can." Then I give a big smile and keep on knitting.
And, truth be told, most of the time the hardest thing about knitting for me is putting it down and doing something else. If anyone asked me which of my hobbies is harder, I would say cooking. Many people can at least cook a few things and they don't go about asking people if that grilled cheese sammie was easy to make. Trust me, making a balsamic reduction or risotto is about 20 times more difficult than anything I've ever knit. And yet people think that cooking is really just something you do. I know not everyone does but most people, if put to the test, could figure out a way to feed a family. Potential starvation is the source of invention.
But, in the past week, knitting has been hard, and not really due to a lack of technical skills.
Shockingly, there were several days recently when I couldn't knit. For a few days, I didn't even want to think about it or look at it. Then, for several more, I rolled mini skeins into balls just to keep my hands touching the yarn. I tried to do some hexapuffs for the Bee Keeper's Quilt but my heart just wasn't in it.
There were three reasons, I think, for this knitting ennui. The first is, after running out of yarn on The CEO's Uncle's socks, I realized that I cannot find the colorway and dye lot information on the Koigu KPPPM I am using. So I need to get to Purl Soho, which has almost every color imaginable and try to match it up...fun. Let's hope I can get in and out without succumbing to temptation.
Without yarn (and halfway through the second sock), I decided to move forward in knitting what I like to call Socks of Love. They are being knit for The CEO's cousin. He is the boyfriend of the person for whom I knit my first pair of Christmas socks. They are a really great couple. And The CEO's Cousin is quite stylish. So I knew I could do something a little more daring with him than most guys. And that's exciting. So I found something not too frou frou but not too simple with a hidden special meaning (more on that later). And The CEO and I picked out some kelly green and white striped camel yarn. I was stoked. The pattern called for toe up socks knit on the Magic Loop and started using Judy's Magic Cast On. That's a ton of magic in those techniques.
For those of you who aren't knitters, the Magic Loop method uses one long circular needle to knit a sock as opposed to several double pointed needles. (Some people can even make both socks at the same time on the Magic Loop but I'm not there yet.)
And I, just COULD NOT understand it. I watched video tutorials, I looked at pictures, I studied, I tried. It wasn't happening. I knew I could just make the darned socks (no pun intended) on DPNs but I wanted to meet this challenge head on. Eventually, I just gave up, shoved the whole thing in my Namaste Hip Holster (thank you, Knitcrate) and decided to live to fight another day. To say it made me feel really sad that I couldn't catch onto a concept that clearly is a pretty strong movement in knitting (aka more than 10 people can do this easily) would be an understatement. So this certainly contributed to my listlessness.
Also contributing was the overload of cortisol that seems ever present in my head. If I could bottle the stuff and sell it, I would be rich. But lately, I don't know. I feel panicked all the time. My mind screams at me that the other shoe is going to drop, that TERRIBLE things are going to happen. And, while one of the reasons I knit it to squelch these feelings and encourage my body to make some helpful chemicals, this time I just couldn't. It felt wrong. I think the magic loop failure made me feel unworthy. So I forced myself to wind mini-skeins into balls until I felt ok.
And then, yesterday, I watch a video tutorial on magic loop and suddenly it made sense. Then, I watched one on Judy's Magic Cast On and thought "Wow, this isn't difficult at all." Last night I did a practice cast on and found it unbelievably doable. So, on the bus this morning, I cast on the new sock and started a toe on my circular email. And here it is:
 |
| That's a toe! Or it will be, rather |
The second is that knitting is not hard, cooking isn't really either...what is hard is LIFE. And look how we are all living it. Sometimes it is ok to be thankful you got out of bed in the morning.
We will see how much I like the Magic Loop as time goes on. I think Judy's Magic Cast On is six kinds of nifty. And also, tonight, in honor of the Eagles second pre-season game and in keeping with the fact that The CEO and I are working to be beach ready in 6 weeks, I will be making peanut butter protein balls.
NoM
~EK
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