Friday, January 23, 2009

Knitting... remind me ...

what exactly is that and how do you find time to do it? [laugh]

How is it that time just seems to disappear on you? Work expands and fills up every moment of your cognitive existence? When you get home, you're like jello? Even knitting seems like a bit of a challenge? Such has been my tale of late.

Poor, poor, pitiful me hmm? [laugh ... don't give me any sympathy... I don't deserve it].

In the almost two weeks since last I posted, I have squeezed in a *small* amount of knitting time, mostly on MLK day (a giant blessing!). My cabled hoodie is slowly coming along, but is getting minimal attention, I have to admit. I still seem to be distracted and wanting to do something else.

My most recent distraction, another square for the cabled afghan I started years ago.


That top square represents the end of square 6 of 16. A funny thing happened after square 6 though. I got all excited about starting another square, pulled out a stitch dictionaries to come up with my own square, cast on and knit about 8 rows, and then asked myself the fateful question "why are you doing this?".

You see, even I had to recognize that the 6 squares I had completed were never going to go together into an afghan. When you look at the picture up there closely, you'll see it too. The far left, far right, and top squares are all nice and large (these are the three most recently knit squares). The three squares in the middle, the ones I started with, not so much on the large size.

I deluded myself for awhile that I could block them into the right size, but you know what, just a delusion. I could have blocked to the right length OR the right width, but there was no way physics was going to allow me to get to both the right length and width simultaneously.

Really I had three completed squares and three objects with no practical use. How much did I really want a 16 square afghan? How many more months would I spend on this task.? Was this the task which was most worth my knitting time?


Does this picture answer the question for you?!

I looked myself squarely in the face, admitted that the early squares had been a good learning experience (this was how I taught myself to cable and how I learned that you don't knit through the back loop normally ... something that never occurred to me when I taught myself... something I only discovered later when watching knitting on television and someone made the distinction between knitting normally and knitting through the back loop), and did the frog dance.

The most recent three squares I've saved and I think I'm going to turn them into throw pillow shams. The first three squares... dust. Let's just say they now rest in the stash, ready along with a number of companions to find another use in the future.

I feel a great unburdening and I've just decreased my "knitting in progress" list by one.

Now if I can just escape the vortex of work and not get distracted into frogging any other WIPs around here.... [grin].

5 comments:

subliminalrabbit said...

*gasp*

lady, you are BRAVE.

Linda said...

Well done on the frogging. I find it really does make me feel better when I am honest abot a knit. I hope work eases of for more relaxation time.

Lola and Ava said...

Sometimes admitting that the project isn't going any where or that you've moved on is the hardest part. The February Lady Sweater is the result of a decision similar to yours. BUT, please tell me that the top one made the cut (I think it did, I think it did) as that honeycomb stitch is divine.

Hilary said...

Ah, the frog pond. *Sigh*. One of the hardest things for a knitter to do. But at least the new techniques you picked up will stick with you!

Anonymous said...

Any knitting project that will ultimately required piecing or sewing gets automatically rejected by me. I see some pretty potholders - put a readers digest in between two of them, and stitch em together. That's what I'd do if I knew how to sew...