Episode 49: Knitting in Place

Episode 49: Knitting in Place (31:40)

Knitting Slumps

• Knitty
• Oblique by Veronik Avery
• two finished pairs of socks!
• Pigeonroof Studios yarn
• cabled and lace shawl- frogged!
• slogging through the wips on Ravelry
• Arucania nature cotton on sale at WEBS
• smooshy sock yarn and the BSJ
• Baywood yarns
• Shelridge
• Have you ever gone through a knitting slump? How long did it last? What brought you out of it?

Colorwork

• Marin Fiber Arts
• Lucy Neatby
• Kristin Knits by Kristin Nicholas

Music:

• Dig Me Out: Sleater Kinney
• Kuyenzera: Cosmas Magaya
• New Life: Numbers

Comments

[Becca]

I went through one of those long knitting slumps. About 6 months after getting really into knitting, I totally put it down. For almost three years!
I think what got me down was a project (baby blanket) that wasn't going my way. I hated the yarn, I hated the pattern, and even began to develop strong negative feelings about the color magenta (the color of the needles I was using). I'm not sure what my hang-up with multiple WIPs was at the time, but apparently I felt like it was baby blanket or nothing...and I chose nothing.
Whenever knitting crossed my mind, all I could think of was the loathsome blanket hiding under the bed, in the closet & eventually in the garage!)

Ironically, the project that got me back into knitting was another baby blanket! That was a year and a half ago and I've barely put down my needles since.

[Sharon Rose]

This was first listen to you guys! I'm cleaning my art room and will listen more as it approaches "yarn store" status. Hopefully by 4pm.

I just went through a 2 month slump. Learning continental and two-handed mosaic knitting got me out of it. Lots of jabber about it on my blog. :)
http://needlegrrl.blogspot.com/

[Leslie]

Thanks for a great episode. As far as knitting slump, I went through a period about 18 months ago where every project I attempted ended up terrible -- even very simple things like baby hats. My mojo was off and I was making all kinds of dumb mistakes (for example, when joining two pieces, I joined them with the wrong sides facing -- duh!) and I was so frustrated. I regrouped and purposely attempted a tough project (the Backyard Leaves scarf, my first charted project) that I successfully completed. Mojo restored! I'm glad I didn't give up. The only times I've taken a few days off knitting has been when I've been ill. My husband knows that if I'm not knitting, I must really be sick. :) Congrats on your almost 50th episode. As a longtime listener, I am impressed with and grateful for your consistency!

[Joni]

Re "Slumps"

Until almost 2 years ago, my so-called knitting life had been more a long string of widely separated binges rather than regular knitting interrupted by slumps. From the seventies until 2005, I knitted about every 7 to 10 years, producing two to five objects in a short period of time.

Now I have been knitting steadily since the summer of 2005: my longest binge ever! I do not feel a slump coming on at the moment.

[Jasmin]

Garter stitch always kills my knitting mojo. I started an Einstein jacket for myself a few years back, and made the mistake of declaring project monogamy.

I didn't knit for a month and a half. Evidently, I was not all that pleasant to live with during the lull. I no longer knit large swaths of garter.

I find that spinning usually gets me back into knitting. Nothing like handspun yarn to get you back on the horse!

[Lori]

It's funny, but this year is the first time I've not put down my knitting to do something else. Normally, I knit for say, 8 mos. and then do my sewing related projects 4 mos., but I can't put my knitting down this time. It seems like there's always something else I HAVE to knit, and my WIP's are the cross-stitch and quilting projects I started months ago.

[Jen]

I can't think of anyone who knits who can't relate to the occasional slump - even if it is just for a few days. When we moved across the country a few years ago I took a 3 month break from knitting - primarily due to one ill-fated pink sweater (not right for me - knitter: know thyself!) - I'd look at it lying next to the comfy knitting chair and think to myself - maybe it would be more fun to paint the dining room? Sometimes the best way out of a slump is to set oneself up for success - a few ballband dishcloths or easy hats/scarves/mitts - instant gratification to help sustain one through the slog. Slog on, my friends, and thanks for another great podcast!

[Deborah]

Like you guys, I can't imagine not knitting for long stretches. But then, I've only been knitting about six years - maybe it's just a matter of time. So while I haven't had a slump yet, I definitely have experienced the slog. It usually comes on when I'm about 70 percent done with a sweater. I get to the point where I have to muster what Jenny has so aptly termed "grim determination" to finish it. I know that I enjoy my knitting much more if I work on only two or three projects at a time, so I survive the slog, but I definitely feel it. During this time I find that I spend much less time knitting - both on the sweater and any other small or simple projects I've got on the needles at the same time.

Also, after I finish a sweater, I enter a period where I just don't feel like starting another big project. This lasts several days at least, maybe a week or two. I think I just need time to admire the most recent piece and gather creative energy to begin something big and new.

Nothing affects my knitting fantasy life, though. That is always very active!

[Alice]

I recently came out of a knitting slump. A difficult lace project took all the knitting out of me, and also life circumstances were such that I couldn't enjoy the things I normally liked doing. I think the slump lasted for six months or so. Now I'm my usual knitting fiend again.

[Psyched 2 Knit]

I knit all through high school and college and the year after college at a pretty normal pace. Then the following year and a half I knit 3 sweaters, which was an insane amount for me at the time, and put knitting down, for the most part for about 10 years. I think I also put it down because I had made the 3 sweaters for other people, and I knew that at least 2 of the people weren't wearing them. During my "hiatus" I would make a scarf hear and there, but really didn't start knitting again daily until October 2004, and I haven't stopped. What brought me back was I had been doing a lot of needlepoint during my non-knitting time, and my stitches were getting really complicated. By this time I had a 2 year old daughter and I couldn't focus on the needlepoint anymore. With knitting, I don't have to look at it, and so I could knit and pay attention to my little one as well. The yarns had also improved a lot, and that made a big difference. The other HUGE difference was that I got involved with knitting groups, and then my knitting got interesting again and social. Now a day doesn't go by that I don't knit - and my stash has grown too!

[Jocelyn]

So many things to comment on this week. OK - I gave up knitting for 10(!!) years after a bad experience at an LYS. Now I can't imagine giving it up, especially for such a stupid reason. It's even more upsetting since I missed out on knitting baby and toddler things for Amanda since the last 8 years of the hiatus were when she was 0-8 years old! Now I can't imagine giving it up. I also love Kristin Knits. Storey did a great job as you said. It's very inspirational. I definitely wish we lived in a colder climate. I gotta make some mittens for my East Coast relatives! And yes, Nicole, you are right about Lucy's suggestion about the thin yarn. It was great to have your company on that drive :-).

[Hanna]

I took a knitting hiatus of about 5 years -- I'd learned to knit, didn't really get that deep into it, and put it down until years later when a friend taught me again.

I still have the first project I'd started, which was a raglan sweater. I finished the front and back .... maybe someday I'll get creative and figure out how to make sleeves that fit it. That would definitely give me closure to that legendary knitting slump!

Thanks for another excellent podcast.

[T2]

I loved listening to you guys discuss the new Knitty. I don't get IK, so this was the 1st time I've known about the patterns you're discussing. It was fun.

The show Ace of Cakes recently aired an episode where they made a cake in the shape of a basket of yarn for a 90 year old knitter. One of the bakers said "I don't know much about knitting, except that people who do it REALLY love it". I was reminded of this as I saw people's comments about not being able to imagine giving up knitting.

[Hillary]

I think your comments about there being too many great patterns out there speaks to the slump. I CANNOT knit as fast as I want to. I want more knitted stuff than I could ever possibly make. That's overwhelming... so it takes some of the fun out of it. I now have 80something items in my Ravelry queue! That's exciting and sad at the same time. Cuz I've only finished something like 20 items over my whole knitting career!

[Laura Sue]

Hi! This was my first listen, and wouldn't ya know I started at the knitting slump issue! So I've downloaded all of 'em from episode 1 and am happily listening to the de-stashing trials and tribs. I'm new to podcasts and am enjoying y'all immensely!

[Hillary]

I think your comments about there being too many great patterns out there speaks to the slump. I CANNOT knit as fast as I want to. I want more knitted stuff than I could ever possibly make. That's overwhelming... so it takes some of the fun out of it. I now have 80something items in my Ravelry queue! That's exciting and sad at the same time. Cuz I've only finished something like 20 items over my whole knitting career!

[T2]

I love the hat in the picture. Is that your own design or based on a pattern?

[Karma]

I'm with previous poster Hillary; there are too many great projects out there and not enough time to do them! Sometimes my fantasy knitting life overwhelms my real life. Heh. That sounds soooo cool. :)

Jenny, when I heard about your knitted pants idea I immediately remembered the No-Sweat Pants from IK Spring '04.

Thanks for another fun podcast!!

[Sally Villarreal]

I learned to knit at a very young age (about third grade) and by the time I got to middle school, it somehow faded into the background. I picked up my crochet every now and then, but I had to sort of "relearn" it when I started knitting again in 2004-2005 or so. (I am 28 now.)

I don't think that was a slump. That was just growing up. I had a slump in the summer of 2006 when I was sick and had to move cross country to stay with my parents. This snapped me out of it:
http://sally-unraveled.livejournal.com/46867.html

Jenny, here are your pants:
http://www.phoenixbess.com/patterns_ABYP.htm

Practicing with a whole project in continental before doing stranded colorwork is a great idea. (Except I need to do it in English because I already knit continental.)

I'm encouraging "play" by swatching every Sunday. So far, I've only missed the Sundays while my boyfriend was visiting:
http://sallycomesunraveled.blogspot.com/search/label/swatching%20sunday

[ThePaintedTiger]

I do some production knitting, so my slump has to do with that! Around summer, I get interested in knitting for myself or family, but then I'm usually gardening. Sometimes I just have to schedule time and say, "I'm going to knit x for myself on x day". I always enjoy the project, and am generally pleased when it is done, but getting started can be an issue. (Not to mention my new spinning wheel distraction!!!)

I'll be watching for the knitted pants! LOL!