Thursday, November 22, 2007

Are you a "thinking" knitter?

A very interesting, and thought-provoking, post on knit, knit,frog today about being a "thinking (or fussy!) knitter" and what has caused the author to become the way she is. I, personally, am not quite there yet.

I learned to knit when I was a child, taught by my mother. There were no knitting books available to me apart from instructions, although I'm not certain I had access to these at this stage. I was taught one way of casting on (long-tail using my thumb - although it didn't have a name, to my knowledge), one way of holding the yarn (right-handed) and one way of casting off. I did hold the needles differently to my mother and I also threw the yarn differently ( I still can't throw the yarn without taking my hand off the right needle no matter how hard I try! Am I slightly physically different?) but otherwise I knitted the same.

Until the internet! To repeat what millions of others must have already stated but it is amazing how a single piece of technology (I use the word "single" rather loosely here) has revolutionised the whole world! I now have access to a huge range of outside influences when it comes to knitting. Who knew there were so many other styles of knitting in practise throughout the world? I didn't. Who knew there was more than one way to increase, decrease, cast on, cast off etc? I didn't. But now, I do! I am learning, slowly, that maybe the way I have been used to knitting for the past ? years is perhaps not the best/most appropriate method for this particular article.

What I did know was that I had not always been totally happy with the work I had been producing but I had not known how to do it better. Now the answers are only as far away as my fingertips. My knitting library has grown in leaps and bounds since I discovered Knitter's Review and Amazon. Instead of simply a good range of patterns and pattern books I now own an interesting collection of how-to books and what-if books. I have now been introduced to knitters such as Elizabeth Zimmermann, Cat Bordhi, Nicky Epstein and Montse Stanley. I am beginning to not accept my knitting which is "ok", knowing there is a way to make it excellent.

For me, my knitting journey has barely begun!

4 comments:

Stell said...

a knitting journey, imagine if we never learned from any thing we did, and made the same mistakes over and over? I love the idea of a knitting journey, and I've just started a spinning journey, who knows what travels I'll complete before the end?

Stella

Stell said...

HI- i will look out for the spinners at the A&P show, my mobile is 021 then 735 then 594 if you are txt enabled, and then we wont miss you, I will bring a copy of Context and the page with the costume and textiles conference in dunedin next year _ if i remember, to hand over.

see you - hopefully?
stella

KathyR said...

That would be so good if we could meet up. I should be around from about 9.30 (early so we can set up) until possibly 2 or 3. Not sure about when I will leave, yet, but I won't be staying too late. We need to go to Ashb for dinner with the kids. Everything is happening this weekend!

Stell said...

and you knit fetchings as well, i just saw them in your finished items list, it was nice to meet up saturday, very nice, and great to put a face to the name.