Skill + 1UP

Today's Topic: Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?


Last year, I made a bunch of sock weight triangle shawls. I guess I think of them as being a gentle introduction to lace. Sure, I've always been able to incorporate a YO here and there, but I'd never been what I think of as a lace knitter. I used to make a joke "I have plenty of challenges in my life, my knitting doesn't need to be one of them". While I still think that's true, I'm becoming more and more fascinated with lace. I've become better at reading the stitches and figuring out what's going on on my needles.

One of the things I learned out about lace knitting was how addictive it is. I found myself getting up even earlier than usual so I could knit a row before work. Or maybe to fix a mistake I'd make the night before when I was tired. Instead of getting frustrated, I was enchanted by the process. I had never thought of myself as a process knitter before and here I was all full of the process. Crazy.

It's been fun to find this new side of my knitting personality. I wonder if most people think of themselves as being either process or product knitters. Or do most think they fall somewhere in between depending on the project?

Rereading that last paragraph, I guess I've been both. When I was a new knitter, I was all about the product. I just wanted to finish whatever project was on my needles and move on to the next. Then I went through a phase where I was was more of a blend. I'd have one no brainer TV project and another more complicated piece going at the same time. I'd rush through the TV project and take my time on the other. In recent years, the pendulum has swung back towards being a product knitter. Because time is scarce, I've done more small projects. I'm quite sure that's because I could finish them quickly. I find it very gratifying to cast off and chalk another one off my list.

(For those of you who read this blog, you know I've been threatening to start of full scale lace weight yarn project for months. I've finally picked one and I'm going to jump in with both feet and a KAL. It's just a tad too early to share all the details, but I'll have more info in a few days.)