New Buzz Word- Confidence!

Okay. I think I am getting a little bit of understanding with this knitting stupidity thing.
1. I am a competent knitter.
2. I am tired a lot at night when I want to knit.
3. I have gotten into bad, bad, bad habits of doing mindless, little projects.
4. I have gotten into bad, bad, bad habits of picking out patterns and trying them out because they are neat, or pretty, or something. Very little thought other than my emotional response.
5. And I am going to go back to basics again and start where I need to start.

So for all the newbie knitters who chance upon this little blog. Learn the basics. Learn how knitting works. Learn to read beyond the patterns. Have confidence that you can do whatever you want to do.

Two blogs to look at: http://Modeknit/Knitting Heretic and http://DonnaDruchuna'sBlog.

It is becoming increasing hard to be a good designer. Our culture relies on designers to steer knitters to the front. But there is a real business of how to get to be a designer, published, and to have a following. There is also the part about the tech writers who write the text for the books. Sometimes there are mistakes. Sometimes the instructions are lousy. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense. That is where the basics, common sense, and confidence come in. If the knitter knows the basics, he or she can work through the problem areas. Sometimes we have to slog through and just do the best that we know how to do.

In the olden days, there were no written patterns like we have now. People just knew the basic instructions of how to make a pair of socks, a sweater, a hat, etc. The fun was knowing patterns and applying them to the basic pattern. It required a little bit of math and thinking. I think that is why I went back to the basic 1940's sock pattern when I knit the Plain Men's Socks for my friend and neighbor.

Anyway, I am still looking through the books, but I think I am getting a handle on this now. I am a competent knitter, I am a competent spinner, I am a competent dyer, I am a competent crocheter, I can tat so-so, and I still know how to design and do needlepoint. And I also sew and piece quilts. And I do a bunch more things. I just have to have confidence in my skill level. I am not a master in any of these skills, but I am good at these skills.

On that note, I am going to go outside now. I need to feed Buddy, the horse, and walk a little bit outside before it gets too late.