Tuesday, December 20, 2011

K1 P1

I have tried 3 times to learn how to crochet.  I simply can't do it.  I can't keep a constant tension and find my projects getting smaller and smaller as my stitches get tighter and tighter.

Knitting, however, is another story.

Elizabeth Vahey showed me how to knit just once and it stuck.  Video tutorials for special stitches are the same; I view them once and know it.

Knitting just makes sense.

When I first started knitting, I hated it.  Projects take for-ev-er!  My first project was a leg warmer (yes a leg warmer.  I haven't made one to match it yet.)  It took me several days to complete and when I was done, I wasn't sure if I would knit anything again.  My other crafting endeavors are typically start-and-finish projects.  Would you like a custom fit hemp necklace?  Watch this movie and I'll be finished when it's over.  A fancy scrapbook page you can frame?  Give me 45 minutes.  A purse?  I'll have it to you tomorrow.  A knitted scarf?  Give me a few WEEKS.  I'll be halfway through a project and start thinking about 3 other projects I'd like to do, with no end in sight.  Frustrating.

*Disclaimer* I know someone who crochets and can make a hat in an hour.  It takes me MUCH longer.  I don't know why it takes me so much time, but the simple fact is it does.

But knitting has grown on me.  I can knit while watching movies I've never seen before, something I can't do with my other craft mediums.  I can take knitting with me in the car on long road trips.  It's easy to bust out my needles at a coffee shop.  It provides me with time to think about the person I'm knitting for; each stitch is a prayer just for them.  Knitting, for me anyway, really is a labor of love.

1 comment:

Loralee Violet said...

Nicole dear,
i think i am the opposite of you. i learned to knit when i was 14 on a family vacation. However, i did not learn to start or end the project, so it was never finished. i also added and dropped stitches all over the place, left gaping gaps, and generally made a mess of things.

The first time i tried to learn to crochet, Cheeze taught me and i just couldn't get it. i felt like a complete moron. i felt like that the second time, too, when Kyle's grandma tried to teach me, which was a few months ago. However, i watched a lot of Youtube tutorials and experimented and even had my boss' 96 year old grandma come in to work to instruct me, and now i get the hang of it. i would heavily emphasis that i experimented. It's taking me a while, but i think i am slowly beginning to learn that things don't have to be right the first time (even though i REALLY want them to be!!!) And... yarn is cheap. i love watching my projects come together now. Maybe you could do a video tutorial for knitting and i can try, try again =]