What kind of knitting athlete are you?

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

Lee — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:55:49 GMT

What kind of knitting athelete am I? I'm the one who trips over the first fence-thing (horse?) !! past the starting line, falls on my face and is out of the race. :) I joined a spindlers team on Ravelry and finished only 5 yards of yarn before quitting. I think I, like you, am I process knitter/spinner.

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

PattieM — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:55:25 GMT

if you haven't done your sleeves yet, wait to hem them until you sew them in...I am daunted by all the finishing on the FMC, and so I thought, "I'll do this little hem now and my sleeve will look nice as I finish knitting it." Now the sleeves are in and they are TOO LONG!!!

I totally agree with this post-MY FMC isn't done, but it will be!

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

Janetcc — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:10:51 GMT

I'm still plugging along, Back, right front, both sleeves done. Casting on for left front (colorwork, but only 2 colors) tomorrow. I too overdid it in my quest to finish. I couldn't even knit the last Saturday. I have tendonitis in both forearms -- mostly from keyboarding and mousing. I haven't given up, but am knitting much (much) slower. More error free too! I hated the deadline, have enough of those with gift projects!

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

alena@5 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:06:16 GMT

Thank you for the post, Sandi. So lovely and so reassuring!

I'm a process knitter, most definitely (even though I do enjoy see the project finished and put it to use immediately!). I've suffered a great deal recently because I have so little time and I just cannot finish anything on time (all the presents since 6 December are belated - that tells something, eh?) while the others seem to finish one top after another! You made me feel so much more relaxed about the knitting times. I 'm enjoying the precious moments I spend with my favourite hobby a great deel more. I fact, I have finally finished (Ya-hoo!) the first little project this month and feel very proud of myself.

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

MaryN@21 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:11:42 GMT

That's such an interesting perspective, Sandi, thanks for the insight........I have been wondering why you took the extra work 'detour' of doing the whole steek thing, when it would have been sooooo much faster just to knit the fronts traditionally....but now I see from whence you come!!!

Me, I rarely have more than one project going at the same time - whether that's just lifetime training or my personality 'cos I do multi-task in other areas! Have been knitting a loooong time - about 50 years (am 57) - and am not of a competitive spirit so probably wouldn't have entered the 'olympics' even if i had known about it! But, I agree, KNITTER, KNOW THYSELF, and that includes personal measurements, and a whole raft of problems do not even begin.

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

MidoriW — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:12:36 GMT

I'm with you, Sandi. Lots of stuff on various sets of needles. Always trying to learn something new, always trying to make it better, enjoy it all along the way. When I finally realized that I knit just because I love to knit, it gave me great permission to not hold tightly to when I'd have the finished "product". Many of my projects take years to finish. I spin because I love the feel of the fibers and the sense of magic at creating something so cozy out of fluff. I knit in part, because I love to knit what I spin.

I'm a 4th grade teacher and I teach kids to knit at the school where I work. I buy needles at garage sales and I find yarns for the kids wherever I can. I work at a low income school, so nobody pays me for this. Since it isn't on the state standards, we do it during all recesses. One little boy learned to attach fringe to his very first knit scarf today. We made a project of finding dropped stitches and learning to hide the ends of yarns we tied them off with. Not a technique you'll find in any knitting book, but he didn't know that. I knit for the happiness it brings to me, to my head, to my hands, to my heart... I knit for joy. they don't have to give medals for that, because I guess it is its own medal in the secret center of your being.

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

Tishy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:21:40 GMT

Medals, shmedals! I plan my project according to where I'm going to be. Socks for the short trips--dentist, kid drop off at piano, etc. The big stuff for when I can sit on the porch with the beasts and knit until the kids come home from school. I also sew, but find that I have to do chores before rewarding myself with finishing tops, pants and jackets. Seasonal knitting is limited to Christmas with a few knitted ornaments at a time. Big projects take a while. I've been sitting on a Starry Night (wooby/afghan, my second) for 18 months waiting for nothing on the schedule so I can sit and get absorbed. This winter's been a real bear. Where's spring!

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

Ellen W — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:26:17 GMT

Thanks for the post Sandi! You made me feel better about my perpetual tension with knitting. It always seems like everyone else has made stacks of sweaters and has knit all the latest hip patterns in a matter of weeks, while I'm still working on something I started two years ago. I usually have a large project on the needles and get distracted by smaller projects along the way. I love your skating analogy. To be a wonderful figure skater would be a dream come true. Maybe I can achieve that through knitting.

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

Victoria@38 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:01:56 GMT

Hi Sandi

Thank you so much for this post. Over the years I have tended to become a "closet" knitter to avoid the dreaded question "when will you get that finished". In the past I liked to think about the hare and the tortoise. Now I can think of your skating analogy while I savour my knitting and enjoy the "me" time that it generates.

VictoriaM, Melbourne Australia

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

MireilleT — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:55:43 GMT

I'm a process gal as well. I'm perpetually fascinated by how my two little (Okay, rather large) hands, two sticks and some string can make clothes, lace, and the most comfortable socks you'll ever put on.

My friends and family have learned to indulge my waving my knitting in their faces when I do something that fascinates me.

I did finish my Olympic project mostly because it was a top down raglan cardigan done entirely in stockinette. I learned about Raglan construction, and really worked on swatches before deciding on what size to make, but the actual knitting went like lightning.

Personally, I can't imagine being all about the finished object! I love knitting because I enjoy the object twice. It entertains the stuffing out of me while I'm making it, then I have something useful when I'm done!

Thanks for reminding us that we all have different styles and we should be true to them as often as possible.

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

mandyangela — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:35:37 GMT

I am a bit of everything, all at once!! I always have several projects on the go at any one time, each one being a different skill level, requiring different levels of concentration. There's always a very simple sweater, scarf or blanket/afghan that needs little/no attention, for times when I don't have a lot of time, or when I am 'winding down'.

I'll have a sweater or cardigan that's more complex, needing more time and attention. And there's always something in Shetland Lace, made to my own design, for when my brain is at 100% power and time is available to really concentrate.

I also set time aside to just play with yarn by trying new stitches, using different needles or hooks (I'm also a very happy hooker!!) to see what looks ok or not. At the moment, I'm trying out the technique for making nupps - I have Nancy Bush's excellent book on Estonia's knitted lace, and want to make something once I can do the nupps.

re: What kind of knitting athlete are you?

Danyelle Frakes-Lewis — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:28:43 GMT

Hi Sandi,

I'm a process person myself. I too examine what I am doing and slow down to figure things out. I'll try things a variety of ways and am not displeased to frog a few rows into an experiment and retry a new and hopefully better way to solve a problem. Thanks for the post!