Author’s Note: I originally ranted about this on Saturday to my crochet guild, but I thought it was such an important message that I’m sharing it here.
I took this year as a year where I wanted to challenge myself and do things that I always wanted to learn how to do but kept putting off. So I learned to spin and now I’m learning lace knitting. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut – I find for myself that I was getting so bored – been there done that. I’ve been knitting and crocheting for 35 years now, so it’s hard to find something I haven’t done.
When I first started knitting and crocheting, I used the typical 1970’s squeaky peach acrylic. That’s all we had in Langton and even at that I had to wait for $1.44 day at Woolco to be able to buy anything. I’m a bit higher on the wool evolution scale, but that’s only come in the last few years because I made a real effort to find out what is out there and to educate myself about it. I actively study trends in design, stay abreast of what’s going on in the industry, and blog stalk constantly to see what others are doing.
I still use acrylic for certain things, like afghans, but as I have more and more “personal summers”, I find that I can’t knit sweaters out of acrylic – hence the wool and cotton. There are some wonderful acrylics being done out there right now that are not all that expensive. The way I figure it, if it takes me over 100 hrs to make something, spending a little more to get something that isn’t going to pill and fall apart is worth it.
So my last pontification is, don’t be afraid to try something – you might like it. And if you don’t, you can always frog it (I have the re-wound balls to prove this theory – ask me about the Hunchback of Notre Dame sweater some time). If you can’t afford fancy materials that’s ok too. Just do the absolute best with whatever you can afford. I’ve seen some pretty amazing things done with inexpensive yarn and some pretty cruddy things done with really expensive yarn. Challenge yourself – learn a new stitch, try a new ball of yarn (even if you can only afford one ball of it), just move a little outside your comfort zone.
At the end of the day you have to love what you’ve made or you’ve just wasted your time and money. Please no one but yourself, but make sure you do at least that.
</jumping off soap box now>
2 thoughts on “Monday Rant”
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Hi Sherri – I agree wholeheartedly!! It’s the challenge of trying something different – playing with colour and texture along the way – that makes the creative journey so cool.
I AGREE! I was recently given some lace weight yarn, and the giver wants to see what I do with it! Geez, a challenge! I have found a pattern I like, but it will challenge my technical skills. However, I will still do some stuff in good, old-school acrylic. There is still nothing better for baby blankets. I like my blankets to be used to death, not preserved as heirlooms. Also, I read an article recently that talked about the “good” yarns. I do not remember the post, but the author compared the cost of buying nice yarns to going to the movies. A person could spend more on a movie and dinner on a Saturday night than they would spend on “good” yarn and a pattern. The movie and dinner would last 3-4 hours at most, but the yarn and pattern would last for much longer. On a cost per hour basis, the yarn and pattern are much cheaper, not to mention you get a “product” at the end to show for your time. Anyway, good “rant”!