Thursday, October 11, 2007

How I became an odd duck

Yes, Alene, I'm an odd duck . . . although I doubt that's a surprise to you after all these years. I am unusual among knitters (textile crafters in general, I imagine) in that I only have one or two projects in progress at a time. Right now, it is the Cactus Flower sweater and some felt mittens (not knitted & felted, but recycled shrunk sweater felt to sew up). Doll clothes likely after the mittens.

How did I get this way? When I was pregnant with DD, I sat down and took a hard look at all the stuff I'd started and not finished for various reasons. I knew my time would be more limited with two kids, and I am always aware that overdoing leads to RSI. So I decided that if I wasn't loving making something, then I wouldn't do it. I am still surprised at the effects of that seemingly simple conscious decision. I found it very freeing (no UFOs to weigh me down) and feel that my creativity has only gone up!

I still find it thrilling to start a new project, but now I finish a lot more of them. I love contemplating my next project, considering colors, researching patterns (like Dumbledore, I love reading knitting patterns), imagining everything about it. By the time I get around to the next one, I may very well have considered several different projects and chosen something entirely different than what I might have if I had started right away, so that stops me from buying yarn before it's time to start or "on spec" [more on my stash soon]. I had no idea that all this thinking could be so much fun! Quack, Cindy

2 comments:

Cindy said...

Argh, the felted sweater was made out of sport weight yarn . . . two layers of which are too thick for my sewing machine. Rats. Then at school today, I see a mom wearing mittens made from old sweaters! Happily it is someone I know and I got to study them. Apparently I'll need to be on the lookout for thinner sweaters!

Alene said...

I've seen versions of these in a book I have. I thought about trying them but it's usually too warm here to wear mittens. I just have a thin pair of gloves that get worn about half a dozen times each year. I'm looking forward to pictures when you get them.