Wednesday, December 30, 2015

The Wonderful, Very Large World of Knitting


Last week I had a Christmas lunch with one of my closest friends. She knows how to knit but hasn't ever pursued it with the passion which I have had since childhood. She is however, fantastically creative. She sews, decorates cakes, has modeled with Fimo and makes handmade greeting cards among many other things I won't list here. All of which she does at a very high level of complexity and detail. Typically she masters her medium and then moves on to a new challenge. After lunch we came home to do our gift exchange. My friend asked to see what I'm currently working on, so I showed her a vest which I just finished, a shawl which is a work in progress and my last published design .

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-christine-redfern-cardigan

Then she asked me why I haven't gotten bored with knitting? I think she was surprised when I said there is still so much to learn and I immediately named off both a technique and a style of knitting which are on my to do list. 

I've known many knitters who stopped knitting and disappeared from my knitting groups. Some just take a break and come back to it. Those knitters generally run into lifestyle issues which impact their discretionary time but they don't lose the desire to knit. Others find another craft or hobby which they prefer and stick with it instead. If I get the opportunity to ask some of the ones who don't return, they are often unable to give a clear reason for their loss of interest. I'm beginning to wonder if those knitters are like my friend? Once they have mastered the skills they feel it's time to move on to other new skills to be learned? Why does knitting still engage me? Is it because I'm able to see new challenges inside the knitting world? I don't have any answers here but I'm mulling. Feel free to comment if you have any thoughts on this topic.

I'm very grateful for everything knitting has brought to my life!

 

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