Thursday, January 08, 2009

there are no knitting police

are there bells? no there are not. yet inside my head it is totalitarian knitting-police state. i have been feeling like a bit of a loser on the knitting front, not able to keep up with the amazing output of some of the bloggers i read, overwhelmed by the choices on ravelry, even a little bit freaked out by my increasing stash. i am starting to understand why i have resisted a major stash enhancement. i am not good at having yarn sitting around. i want to make stuff with it. there is currently too much of it sitting over there in that basket taunting me with its loveliness and reminding me how little time i have to knit.

this has become majorly exacerbated lately with the taking on of a new job and its attendant travelling time (for such a huge country, our public transport really sux). i am not even finished my first week and it is very obvious to me that i am going to be lucky to get an hour or two of knitting time a day. you cant get a lot done in two hours a day.

and i made it worse for myself by buying this book:

and falling madly in love with this shawl:



and i am going to do it in malabrigo too. i just dont know when! bells and i are starting the myrtle leaf shawl soon and i still have two scarves to finish- one of which is intended as a gift, but it is nearly there:

my problem here is that i dont know how much yarn it took me to do the first border so i am not sure when to stop the length to knit the second border. i need some crack scales.

my other problem is that i knitted some people a single sock each for christmas, including my very first monkey (which i LOVED making, what a great pattern), and i gifted them with IOU tags attached. they need to be finished in the next two weeks as well.

after this though, i am going to have to take the pressure off myself to produce outcomes, and go back to knitting as a process. i promised my nieces some cardigans but i just wont have time, and i dont knit to get more stressed, i knit to unwind. so a shift of focus will be required to oust the police state. maybe i need a knitting buddha!

at least today has dawned cool and cloudy with the arrival of a good southerly, pushing the heatwave out to sea. there was talk of bushfires yesterday, but this morning it looks like this:

and i dont have to drive to work today. thats something.

knitting, anyone?

k xx

11 comments:

amy said...

My new job responsibility has left me with about ten minutes of knitting time per day, if I'm lucky. ;) And although I absolutely adore my new responsibility, I have to admit I do miss knitting. A bit at the end of the day was always so centering.

(I can type while she's awake in the sling, but not knit--too squirmy. In case you're curious why I manage to read blogs but not knit!)

Michelle said...

First of all ... BREATHE.

And out.

And in.

You sound exactly like me when I first went back to work in October - I had no idea how I was going to fin time to sleep, let along crochet and keep the shop going and cook and garden and and and ...

Breathe.

Honestly, you'll find the time. It might take you a month to work out a routine, but you will find it. Trust me.

Rose Red said...

What Michelle said - the routine will come.

For the scarf, can you knit the second border now and then finish the main part, and graft the two together? That way you'll know you will use all the yarn!

Wish I could come and knit with you right now!

m1k1 said...

The cooler weather means I should be mowing the back yard, but instead I am knitting. Hah. Take that, gods of lawnliness.
Thank goodness for RoseRed and her knitting sense.
I love that GOL shawl. And having a plan to knit is part of the process, and is almost like having knitted. Why else would there be stash enhancement in the first place?

Bells said...

I have been totally obsessing over that tea shawl. Maybe we can make that together some time?

And my stash taunts me, too. It's why I need to slow down and just knit it.

Now here's the thing, my lovely single monkey sock is quite ok with being a singleton right now. Please do not rush to finish it by Australia Day. It's nowhere near cold enough to need it and you don't need the pressure. WHENEVER! I'd rather you knit it when you are not rushing, seriously!

Bishop Stone said...

oh I love that shawl, but then again there a few shawls out there that I would love to make. I like your backyard, it is sooo green.

Lea said...

I know, I know, I know - and like Michelle says it will get better. I only get about an hour or 2 a day and wish I had the nerve to knit in meetings - such a waste of good knitting time!

Caffeine Faerie said...

I'm with you. Trust me. I'm in the middle of formalising chapter outlines to deadline and I've 4 presents to be knitting. I'm with you.

But, like Michelle said - breathe - you'll get it all sorted.

Denise said...

Wow, that is a LOT of driving every day - just that alone would wear me out! I'd see anything else as an extra, and definitely put those knitting police on notice - it is meant to be relaxing fun, after all :)

Love that view from your garden - glad you're getting a respite from the heat, too.

lilypotter said...

Don't you hate when life gets in the way of knitting? Good luck finding your knitting Buddah. :) I love the pattern you picked out.

Georgie said...

I totally understand - there are so many things I want to do and make that it makes my head spin and keeps me awake at night. I have to take self-enforced breaks from Rav so I dont get myself too wound up!

And what Michelle said. the routine will come. Remind me of this next week when its my turn to freak out about work, yeah??