Friday, June 09, 2006

Is this really me?

I consider myself being down-to-the-earth person. I don't seek too high. I know what is possible and what not. I can't get the moon from the sky no matter how hard I try. I know this.
I'm the one in this family who on most occasions stays calm. At least on many occasions. I don't usually fire up very quickly. I can wait. I can do jobs that are not that pleasant. I complain a lot but do them anyway. I can put things into perspective, I know one hour has only 60 minutes and one day only 24 hours and one week 7 days etc. I know how long it takes to boil potatoes, how long time it takes to prepare a salad. I'm quite accurate.
But when it comes to knitting my personality changes. All of a sudden I'm driven by my emotions. Only. I love or I hate. Nothing in between. I go from wool heaven to wool hell during one hour and back to wool heaven again. Or vice versa. If a yarn or a pattern speaks to me, I will cast aside everything else and focus on this new love only. And it might be that this new yarn stops talking to me after 15 minutes and then I'm looking for something else. I have many many needles stuck in unraveled yarn balls. I cast on, work awhile and rip. As if I do not know myself nor my yarn. No matter how many times I look myself deep into the eye asking what do you really want, this always happens. Cast on with glory, rip off in deep disappointment.
When I go out of the house, I bring with me more yarn than needed. As if I could not tell how much sock knitting I can accomplish in 15 minutes. Like if I all of a sudden could rapidly knit two pairs of socks in less than a day.
Or if I need something special to wear in two weeks time, I can happily cast on for a cardigan that would in good circumstances take me minimum of two months continuous knitting. I should consider the time factor but also the fact that probably I'm not able to be loyal to one knit only.
I know how I look. I should not pick up patterns that are unsuitable to me any more. I should know how long my arms are or the shape of my foot at least.
I should know what can be knit with alpaca and what not.
But I can be perfectly blind to all the facts of life and yarn and proportions when I'm dealing with wool and knit issues.
Obviously I need some self improvement.
From now on I'll stay calm, I'll wait and I'll consider. I shall not hurry into new knitting situations... I'll think carefully and plan beforehand. This I will promise from the bottom of my knitting heart.

PS. I just love my spinning wheel. I truly love the handspun. Love only the handspun. I will NEVER again knit with anything else than with my handspun.
Do you believe me?
Honestly, I don't either.
But sincerely hope my love will last for a week. Or at least for one night. If that happens I'll show you a picture.

12 comments:

  1. I'm glad you are pleased with your spinning wheel.

    Perhaps every personality needs an outlet where it can be different from its otherwise normal state, an alter ego, so to speak. Your rational self can take a rest and you can be emotionally driven with your knitting. Just a thought.

    How do the knitting time emotions compare with the spinning time emotions?

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  2. Hmm . . . seems I have the same knititng personality as you! In preparation for a long car ride I ran around frantic last night looking for the perfect project to work on during the drive. I cast on, ripped out, cast on, ripped out, etc. I settled on a boring stockinette sweater I have partly done since I figured atleast I'll get some rows completed. Anyway, it's nice to see I am in good company. :)

    Cheers . . .

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  3. Anonymous19:15

    Some women (even women who know how to make a decent, balanced meal) know what kind of men they should be looking for, but end up with the wrong kind, time after time. Some women (even women who know how long it takes to make a salad) think their children are able to get by with less parental attention than is actually necessary to raise decent kids. Thank the knitting powers-that-be that your blind spot is safely constrained to knitting. Imagine if you were impetuous about human relations instead!

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  4. Anonymous19:16

    Ah, don't beat yourself up; it's all part of being creative. And you are in excellent company… Leonardo was the master of UFOs and botched experiments and who remembers that now? We all look at the few beautiful paintings he did finish.

    :)

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  5. Fickle bunch, aren't we?

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  6. Called enthusiasm Lene...I do it all the time.Then in the cold light of the next day it doesn't seem so good and I want to knit something else .I think we want to knit them all but we are discarding some because the sensible part of us knows we'll never accomplish all we want without six pairs of hands.

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  7. You're not alone! And I think it is part of the creative process, you try something the doesn't work and rip it. from love to hate in minutes.

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  8. Anonymous22:00

    Yarn lies. It's always trying to tell me how beautiful it would be if I make it into {fill in the blank}. And how beautiful I will be if I make it into {fill in the blank} and wear it. Thankfully, knitting needles are honest and force the yarn to tell the truth once it's on the needles. There's nothing wrong with you, just the companions you choose.

    Good luck with the homespun - maybe it will be more honest!

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  9. Anonymous22:49

    "From now on I'll stay calm, I'll wait and I'll consider. I shall not hurry into new knitting situations... I'll think carefully and plan beforehand. This I will promise from the bottom of my knitting heart."

    Oh no, this is not how it works. If you take away the jumping into projects and ripping back in disappointment, then some kind of passion is gone. Planning ahead can pay off, of course. But there is some passion that is squelched if the spontaneity is completely removed.

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  10. Sounds like yarn (fiber) simply brings out another side of you. The more the merrier... knitting brings out in me different personality traits as well, a more vibrant daring side… its great to be able to express ones other parts in knitting, where it is safe!
    Why fight it?
    enjoy it.

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  11. Anonymous02:07

    Yes, it's obviously you, and me as well. Just when I think I've got the knitting, spinning all under control, I start up on something that, although I take careful measurements before, during and after the process, doesn't quite make it somehow. But the times it all works out as I planned are great, and I remember why I chose knitting and spinning as my niche.

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  12. My theory is that we believe the pictures that tell us what a project will look like. (Or worse yet, we believe that thought in our minds that a certain yarn can be used for a particular project, just because we want to buy it.)I give up on projects easier now. If I don't like how it turned out, but do like the yarn, I rip it out and reknit into something else. What is most important is the knitting part after all. Most knitters have plenty socks/sweaters/hats/etc.

    And I love my wheel, but I like my spindles better!

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