Not Striving for Perfection
I wouldn't say that I'm a perfectionist, but I do have strong tendencies in that direction.
This has its ups and downs.
When I was in graduate school it meant that I never stopped revising and editing my papers until the moment I turned them in, because I always felt they could be just a little bit better. I did very well in school but I didn't sleep much those years.
My perfectionist tendencies serve me fairly well in my knitting; I am technically proficient enough to be able to solve most knitting problems and turn out projects that are generally mistake free. The Italian occasionally chides me for not "letting things go" more, but if I see a mistake I can fix without too much trouble I will do so. I like to do it right.
Where it hasn't served me well is with my spinning. I have much too much spinning fiber in the house that I haven't tried working with because it's "too nice" for me to use until I know how to spin better. I don't have any target for when I would be "good enough" as a spinner to spin any of these lovely fibers, but I've decided that enough is enough.
It's time to start spinning. For real.
I'm not going to jump right into the quiviut that's lurking somewhere in a bin - it's so incredibly soft, and so incredibly expensive, that I will wait a little longer to attempt that, thank you very much.
But I have lots of lovely wool and small amounts of all sorts of other things and there's no reason not to do something with it all. I think the only thing I will require of myself is that I be mindful about it: I'll try to pay attention, take notes, keep track of what I do so in the future I'll be able to remember what I liked, what I didn't, and what fibers I still haven't tried!
This is what I'm working on now:
Lisa Souza Blue Faced Leicester. I bought 4 oz. at Stitches and it is wonderful to work with. I had made note of some green Socks that Rock yarn earlier in the day, but when I spotted this top I just had to have it. Lisa Souza's prices are very reasonable and the quality of the product is fabulous!
I'm spinning with a true worsted draft and it is so different from any spinning I've done before. I can't do it solely by feel yet so I really have to watch what I'm doing, but it is mesmerizing.
The plan is to make a three ply sock yarn which will be lustrous, durable and very, very green!
This has its ups and downs.
When I was in graduate school it meant that I never stopped revising and editing my papers until the moment I turned them in, because I always felt they could be just a little bit better. I did very well in school but I didn't sleep much those years.
My perfectionist tendencies serve me fairly well in my knitting; I am technically proficient enough to be able to solve most knitting problems and turn out projects that are generally mistake free. The Italian occasionally chides me for not "letting things go" more, but if I see a mistake I can fix without too much trouble I will do so. I like to do it right.
Where it hasn't served me well is with my spinning. I have much too much spinning fiber in the house that I haven't tried working with because it's "too nice" for me to use until I know how to spin better. I don't have any target for when I would be "good enough" as a spinner to spin any of these lovely fibers, but I've decided that enough is enough.
It's time to start spinning. For real.
I'm not going to jump right into the quiviut that's lurking somewhere in a bin - it's so incredibly soft, and so incredibly expensive, that I will wait a little longer to attempt that, thank you very much.
But I have lots of lovely wool and small amounts of all sorts of other things and there's no reason not to do something with it all. I think the only thing I will require of myself is that I be mindful about it: I'll try to pay attention, take notes, keep track of what I do so in the future I'll be able to remember what I liked, what I didn't, and what fibers I still haven't tried!
This is what I'm working on now:
Lisa Souza Blue Faced Leicester. I bought 4 oz. at Stitches and it is wonderful to work with. I had made note of some green Socks that Rock yarn earlier in the day, but when I spotted this top I just had to have it. Lisa Souza's prices are very reasonable and the quality of the product is fabulous!
I'm spinning with a true worsted draft and it is so different from any spinning I've done before. I can't do it solely by feel yet so I really have to watch what I'm doing, but it is mesmerizing.
The plan is to make a three ply sock yarn which will be lustrous, durable and very, very green!
Labels: BFL, knitting, sock-knitting, socks, Spinning
posted by Marie at 8:23 AM
3 Comments:
The Italian (otherwise known as UberVirgo) chides you to let things go more?
"Hello, Kettle? It's pot. News flash: you're black."
Yay! You will be amazed at how much better you will get and how quickly. And yarn that looks not perfect when you're spinning it is still amazing knitted up. I love my handspun socks tremendously even when I don't want to look too closely at the yarn.
Hi, I came here on referral from your aunt Susan. I'm her sister-in-law. Just wanted to say that I am enjoying reading your blog for I too am a knitter and someday maybe I'll try my hand at spinning.
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