What kind of knitter are you?
I’ve been reading Knitting Heaven and Earth by Susan Gordon Lydon. So far my only disappointment is the absence of the author’s photo on the cover. I want to know what she looks like because she tells so much about herself and what kind of knitter she is that I feel I know her.
What kind of knitter are you? Do you glory in the ever-changing light and dark of hand-dyes? Are you soothed by the endless, epic (relentless?) nature of a fine lace shawl or prefer the quick fix of chunky mittens or baby bootees? Are you plagued by Second Sock Syndrome (or second mitten or second bootee) with a series of lone socks languishing in your basket/bag/closet? Do you knit baby things for charity with secret delight in warming a small heart? Do you love the well-thought-out and accurate pattern or plunge fearlessly on with a bit of a swatch, a big idea and a few scratchy notes? Big needles? 0000’s? Easy-wash acrylic or quiviut? One project at a time or a near endless stash of UFOs?
I am a little bit of all of these, but mostly I am an experimental knitter. Small or large, I love to try something new. As I write this, a baby blue and white 7” x 9” rectangle sits next to me under the lamp. I can’t wait to get back to it because it’s an experiment in “Shadow” or “Illusion” knitting (Thank you teacher Karen Friely & writer Vivian Hoxbro). Like a mystery novel, I can’t wait to find how it all turns out. 7 x 9 rectangles are perfect for little experiments and you can hand them off like a relay at a guild meeting to be turned into a cozy afghan.
It doesn’t matter what kind of knitters we are. We all gather our own personal joy, blessing, relief or triumph from it. The Knitting Olympics are over. Kudos and “medals” to all who took up the challenge, struggled and maybe thought a bit about what kind of knitter he or she is. It’s enough that we knit.
What kind of knitter are you? Do you glory in the ever-changing light and dark of hand-dyes? Are you soothed by the endless, epic (relentless?) nature of a fine lace shawl or prefer the quick fix of chunky mittens or baby bootees? Are you plagued by Second Sock Syndrome (or second mitten or second bootee) with a series of lone socks languishing in your basket/bag/closet? Do you knit baby things for charity with secret delight in warming a small heart? Do you love the well-thought-out and accurate pattern or plunge fearlessly on with a bit of a swatch, a big idea and a few scratchy notes? Big needles? 0000’s? Easy-wash acrylic or quiviut? One project at a time or a near endless stash of UFOs?
I am a little bit of all of these, but mostly I am an experimental knitter. Small or large, I love to try something new. As I write this, a baby blue and white 7” x 9” rectangle sits next to me under the lamp. I can’t wait to get back to it because it’s an experiment in “Shadow” or “Illusion” knitting (Thank you teacher Karen Friely & writer Vivian Hoxbro). Like a mystery novel, I can’t wait to find how it all turns out. 7 x 9 rectangles are perfect for little experiments and you can hand them off like a relay at a guild meeting to be turned into a cozy afghan.
It doesn’t matter what kind of knitters we are. We all gather our own personal joy, blessing, relief or triumph from it. The Knitting Olympics are over. Kudos and “medals” to all who took up the challenge, struggled and maybe thought a bit about what kind of knitter he or she is. It’s enough that we knit.
posted by Gail | 8:15 AM
1 Comments:
Gail,
Don't know if you know, but Susan Gordon Lydon died last year. Noted feminist, editor of Rolling Stone (!), knitter.
I googled her and found out all this, although no picture in a few pages worth.
I'm a little bit of all, but like you, I like the new -- the new yarn, the new stitch pattern, the new shape, the new construction, anything new is fun to me.
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