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December 7, 2005
Everything I know (about myself) I know through my knitting. 
The new Knitty is out. I'm so excited. One of Jess Hutch's little creatures is on the cover, and there are other fun things to knit. An article called Scarf Psychology talked about how you approach your knitting says a lot about you. Well, d'oh!
This is the way it works. I get an idea in my head. Or I am checking out some knitting patterns, and so I decide to make one. So let's assume that I decide to follow a pattern. But I can't. I just can't. The pattern calls for linen, but I want to make it out of kitchen cotton. So I knit the gauge (a 4" square piece) to figure out how many stitches, I need. Brilliant.
Now that's an example of something that actually works out well. I compare the swatch I have to the swatch in the pattern and do the math to bring it down (or up) proportionally. That's no big shakes, but I'm always surprised that everyone doesn't do that.
But let's look at an example of something that isn't working as well. I decide to make fingerless elbow-length gloves from the finger down. But I've misplaced my pattern for gloves from the finger down*, and my pattern is actually for full gloves, not fingerless ones, so I just make it up as I go. But, umm, they don't look right, and then I'm stuck. So, I haven't even finished the first one and I'm already thinking that once I get a second pair made, I'm gonna rip these ones up so I can remake them and do it right this time.
So. I can't conform. My planning is lousy. And with something like this where I'm really winging it, the imperfections really bug me a lot—I want to go back and do it again perfectly.
I've been thinking (note: not actually doing) about actually writing patterns. Yeah, that'd make me plan! That'd show me!
...
Anyways, I think it's clear that developing my planning skills would be A Good Thing TM, as there is a lot of my life that I'd just like to rip out.
Part of me doesn't trust my own knowledge. Part of me wants to compulsively check things over and over.
It would be easy to say that I'm lazy and undisciplined, though that isn't always true. I can be quite disciplined and quite hardworking, and I'd argue that those characteristics are true much more of the time for me that the previous. But still, I don't show the forethought that might be helpful in somethings. Perhaps related to not being able to see myself in 5 years?
* With most things, you can from the top or from the bottom. With sweaters, you generally knit from the top. With socks, from the top. With gloves, from the wrist. There are published exceptions to the first two, but I'm still waiting to see a published pattern for gloves from the fingertips down. I took a class and learned how to make them about three million years ago, and the written directions the instructor gave were fantastic... if only I could find them.
Posted at December 7, 2005
Comments
I had to smile when I read this post. I have a drawer full of Simplicity patterns. Unfortunately, I read these as "guidelines" rather than patterns which I should be expected to follow. Maybe that's why I'm great at making costumes but can't make a freaking apron from a pattern.... :-) I thought it was just b/c I'm so terribly creative! hee hee hee
Posted by: neca at December 9, 2005 5:28 AM
I hear here you are comming from. On the subject of finger down gloves go see nona knits (blog) she has recently done a tutorial on icord fingered, finger down gloves that I am sure you could adapt.
Posted by: janine at December 10, 2005 11:08 AM
Can't help you with the knitting. I tried it once and sucked really bad at it. Kept dropping stitches.
However, I am good at crocheting. I do lots of that without patterns or change the pattern to my liking. Its more forgiving if you make a mistake.
Posted by: Dawn (aka Pink Lady) at December 11, 2005 6:49 AM