Friday, November 2, 2007
click.click.click
I love knitting. Have I mentioned? I'm a fucking knitting fanatic. To the point that it gets me in trouble. :P
But my adoration for knitting is not the actual subject of this post. My Philosophy of Knitting is. Okay, perhaps a misleading title; it's not a philosophy OF knitting, it's a philosophy ABOUT knitting. Er... pertaining to knitting... uh...
ANYWAY, I realized something about life, the universe, and everything WHILE knitting, okay? So, yes. Philosophy of Knitting.
Knitting is the most positive example of "the end justifies the means" ever. Really. Usually, this idiom is used in context of some horrific tactic used by--cough--SOME PEOPLE, in order to get peace (or submission). But with knitting, this idiom rings true. Why else would all us knitters hunker down and squint at fuzzy, sparkly, string-width yarn to create something as frivolous as a scarf, hat, socks, or some atypical whimsy that we could just as easily buy at a store?! Really!
But why do it? Why do anything? Why not take the easiest route possible? The least painful? The most time-efficient? Why? Why end up frustrated with a tangle of yarn around every limb possible, a mess on your needles, and a headache just to make a damn tea cosy? I literally spent an hour and a half wrestling with some fuzzy, thin yarn just to find out that the pattern I designed (which took another half hour) wasn't going to work on the damn yarn. (And now that I think about it? I'm just going to make the pattern bigger and TRY AGAIN! MASOCHISM, I'M TELLING YOU!)
It's the journey that makes the whole experience worth it. And I don't mean the fucking drive to Wal-Mart to buy your groceries and a new damn scarf.
The hard work and effort put into something makes the whole thing worth it. ...I feel like I'm talking too broadly now. But I think I've made my point?
If not, here it is: knitting is fun because you have a new item that you spent YOUR time and YOUR effort to make. Life is enjoyable because eventually you are able to sit back and see what you have arranged for yourself after all you've put into it.
You cannot just sit back and expect life to go on autopilot while you eat your just desserts. You have to put in effort and commitment and... oh, shit, I sound like a counselor. Damnit. Well, I suppose this is my cue to stop writing about life, the universe, and everything, and get back to those damn needles!
--EDIT: Fuck! I didn't even say what I wanted to. I suck at writing about anything but sex. :P
Can I pick up again? HAHA, YES I CAN 'CAUSE I KNOW HOW TO PICK UP STITCHES TO KEEP KNITTING ON THE HEM OF A PIECE!
Not only does knitting require much scrutiny, but it also requires a hell of a lot of patience. I don't know if YOU'VE ever tried to knit something, but when a sweater calls for you to cast on 200-something stitches, you know you're in for trouble. Do you know how tedious it is to count 200 fucking stitches over and over and over and fucking over again? REALLY fucking tedious, okay?
Have you ever knit the entire front of a sweater in one sitting? I DIDN'T FUCKING THINK SO. BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING BORING. Usually. There are exceptions, but goddamn. Stockinette stitch for 400 rows? Exaggeration, but you get the point.
It is this saint-like patience that is also vital in life. It may be fucking boring as hell, but if you really want that adorable cotton halter top with the twist in the top half and the back details, you know you're going to have to do a lot of reading and rereading and re-rereading and knitting, and frogging, and knitting, and frogging, and counting those 200-something stitches for the 200th time because you KNOW that soon you'll be getting to the bit that isn't telling you to boil your needles to bend them into a ninety-degree angle or knit with your circulars in an ACTUAL CIRCLE and to the part where you get to practice your lace and do something other than stockinette stitch in a variety of difficult positions before you finally put it away and don't finish it for another six months. Er--that's knitting; but life... well, you all really know how life is. I've just bored you with some knitting frustrations. :P
That was an important point I wanted to make. Now, I really am going to go back to procrastinating on my NaNo--er, um... knitting. Yeah, knitting. (Also, not working on what I should be/want to. >_> Fuck tedious knitting. I want some ANGRY KNITTING! MAD KNITTING! GRAWR!)
But my adoration for knitting is not the actual subject of this post. My Philosophy of Knitting is. Okay, perhaps a misleading title; it's not a philosophy OF knitting, it's a philosophy ABOUT knitting. Er... pertaining to knitting... uh...
ANYWAY, I realized something about life, the universe, and everything WHILE knitting, okay? So, yes. Philosophy of Knitting.
Knitting is the most positive example of "the end justifies the means" ever. Really. Usually, this idiom is used in context of some horrific tactic used by--cough--SOME PEOPLE, in order to get peace (or submission). But with knitting, this idiom rings true. Why else would all us knitters hunker down and squint at fuzzy, sparkly, string-width yarn to create something as frivolous as a scarf, hat, socks, or some atypical whimsy that we could just as easily buy at a store?! Really!
But why do it? Why do anything? Why not take the easiest route possible? The least painful? The most time-efficient? Why? Why end up frustrated with a tangle of yarn around every limb possible, a mess on your needles, and a headache just to make a damn tea cosy? I literally spent an hour and a half wrestling with some fuzzy, thin yarn just to find out that the pattern I designed (which took another half hour) wasn't going to work on the damn yarn. (And now that I think about it? I'm just going to make the pattern bigger and TRY AGAIN! MASOCHISM, I'M TELLING YOU!)
It's the journey that makes the whole experience worth it. And I don't mean the fucking drive to Wal-Mart to buy your groceries and a new damn scarf.
The hard work and effort put into something makes the whole thing worth it. ...I feel like I'm talking too broadly now. But I think I've made my point?
If not, here it is: knitting is fun because you have a new item that you spent YOUR time and YOUR effort to make. Life is enjoyable because eventually you are able to sit back and see what you have arranged for yourself after all you've put into it.
You cannot just sit back and expect life to go on autopilot while you eat your just desserts. You have to put in effort and commitment and... oh, shit, I sound like a counselor. Damnit. Well, I suppose this is my cue to stop writing about life, the universe, and everything, and get back to those damn needles!
--EDIT: Fuck! I didn't even say what I wanted to. I suck at writing about anything but sex. :P
Can I pick up again? HAHA, YES I CAN 'CAUSE I KNOW HOW TO PICK UP STITCHES TO KEEP KNITTING ON THE HEM OF A PIECE!
Not only does knitting require much scrutiny, but it also requires a hell of a lot of patience. I don't know if YOU'VE ever tried to knit something, but when a sweater calls for you to cast on 200-something stitches, you know you're in for trouble. Do you know how tedious it is to count 200 fucking stitches over and over and over and fucking over again? REALLY fucking tedious, okay?
Have you ever knit the entire front of a sweater in one sitting? I DIDN'T FUCKING THINK SO. BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING BORING. Usually. There are exceptions, but goddamn. Stockinette stitch for 400 rows? Exaggeration, but you get the point.
It is this saint-like patience that is also vital in life. It may be fucking boring as hell, but if you really want that adorable cotton halter top with the twist in the top half and the back details, you know you're going to have to do a lot of reading and rereading and re-rereading and knitting, and frogging, and knitting, and frogging, and counting those 200-something stitches for the 200th time because you KNOW that soon you'll be getting to the bit that isn't telling you to boil your needles to bend them into a ninety-degree angle or knit with your circulars in an ACTUAL CIRCLE and to the part where you get to practice your lace and do something other than stockinette stitch in a variety of difficult positions before you finally put it away and don't finish it for another six months. Er--that's knitting; but life... well, you all really know how life is. I've just bored you with some knitting frustrations. :P
That was an important point I wanted to make. Now, I really am going to go back to procrastinating on my NaNo--er, um... knitting. Yeah, knitting. (Also, not working on what I should be/want to. >_> Fuck tedious knitting. I want some ANGRY KNITTING! MAD KNITTING! GRAWR!)
// posted by Kate @ 3:24 AM 
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