Monday, June 18, 2007

Letting go

Sometimes a knit just isn't working, you know it but you keep trying anyway. You knit a couple of rows here and a couple of rows there. But the whole time you really aren't enjoying it.
You don't like the look of it, you don't like how it feels and working on it has become a chore.

Yet if you put it aside and work on things you enjoy, you feel guilt. You know it really wouldn't take long to finish if you just worked on it.

The knit has become more than a chore, it has become a burden.
Something that sits quietly in it's basket niggling at you and taking away the pleasure of knitting.

Realistically this is only my own expectations of what I should make, should finish and how long something should take me to do that is niggling at me.

Yes, I could work on that scarf, I could finish it and it probably wouldn't take that long.
But I am not enjoying it and knitting is meant to be fun.
I really don't know why I have so much trouble admitting when something isn't working, why I have to keep trying and trying.

Yarn can be un knitted.
It can be rewound.
It goes back in the stash all too easily. Once you start. Bye Bye lace scarf.


So winding and placing yarn back into the stash happened yesterday creating space for something I want to work on. Something I have wanted to make since I first discovered blogland.

The Irish Hiking Scarf.





7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh that's lovely and cheery!!! Today in the midlands it was -8!!! That's scarf weather!!

Unknown said...

That is my 3rd As You Like It shawl. I am not feeling the yarn, even though I thoroughly love the yarn. In skein form. I have tried 2 other times to make this yarn become something. I might try a trade with a weaver and let her weave me something with it. But I will probably march on and finish the knitting of it. Fluff flying and all.

knightlyknitter.wordpress.com said...

Lovely fuschia - the colour alone will keep you warm!!!
Have a lovely knittime with it - I think you were right to frog the other one :)

Diane said...

Life is too short to knit unhappy. Frog away! I've been eyeing that irish hiking scarf for a while, too. Yours looks really nice.

Anonymous said...

I agree! It's meant to be fun! Blow yucky knitting! Hooray for yummy red scarves!

somebunnysloveDOTcom said...

Ugh. I feel the same way about the baby sweater I finished a few months ago. It looks so horrid to me, that I want to cut it up! Instead, I am going to frog that thing and redo it. Lots of thanks for helping motivate me!

Tracy Batchelder said...

It not always obvious whether to give up or to keep going. Sometimes I've stuck it out and it's been worth it. Thanks for the comment on my blog.

Your scarf is off to a good start.