Thursday, January 31, 2008

Thought provoking question (well for a knitter, anyway)

When Christine had her blog anniversary contest, she asked commenters to tell her "what your favorite knit has been". I came up with a fast response, so as not to miss the deadline, but that got me to thinking, and I really could answer that in a lot of different ways.

Is my favorite the one that was most enjoyable to work on, because I loved the feel of the yarn running through my fingers, or the rhythm of the motions? Nothing jumps to mind based on this criterion. I'm pretty sure I'm not a "process knitter". Or maybe I just haven't been using the right yarn. I think I could really enjoy the physical sensations of working an ever so basic cardigan in bulky baby alpaca.

Is my favorite the one I made for someone special? In that case, it would have to be the really very plain Jane (or John) socks I made for Mr. S. from cotton/elastic yarn, because I was so happy to find something that he could wear without itching and because he is so darned appreciative of them.


Is my favorite the one that was most satisfying to accomplish, because most challenging? That would have to be one of the lace bits.


Sometimes my favorites are the ones I make up as I go along. Even though the results aren't alway exactly as I had envisioned, this is where I genuinly do enjoy the process, figuring out what is going to come next. I derive a certain pleasure from being surprsed by my knitting. The Electric Kool Aid (dyed) Stocking Cap would fall into this category.



It's really sort of a monster, but boy was it fun to knit.





Mostly I think my favorite knit is the one that is lurking around in the back of my mind, just starting to take shape as an idea.

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Speaking of favorites of a different kind, I'm hugely disappointed that John Edwards has dropped out of the race. I liked Edwards because he was the only one focussing on the growing economic inequality in this country, and insisting that this needs to be addressed in national policy. I never thought he would get the nomination, but I wanted a chance to vote for him. If the primary ballots have space for a write in, I still will.

2 comments:

YarnThrower said...

That's a tough question, and an interesting response! I appreciate your thoughts, because I'm *not* a process knitter, either. Don't get me wrong -- I *do* enjoy the process, but for me, it is also important to end up with something useful and nice, and if I don't think I'll actually wear something (or if I don't think somebody else will wear it), then I typically won't make an investment in it...

Anonymous said...

There were groans heard 'round Chez Kat™ when Edwards stepped out of the race, too. We assumed he would hang in there until the convention and, when neither Obama nor Clinton took the nomination on the first ballot, be the one that decided the nominee and thereby assured himself of being the VP. Damn.