Knitting - A Fascination

I don't know what it is about knitting, but I'm hooked. For good. When I look back to the beginning of my knitting experience, I never thought I would be knitting garments for myself. I never imagined I would be able to create a hand knit piece of fabric, put it together, and create my own unique masterpiece. My one of a kind. My own hand knitted garment that, well, fits pretty good.

Before now, I never attempted to knit because I knew there was math involved. Too much brain power, I thought. Difficulty level appeared to be really high. Too many unknowns. Crochet suited me fine. Simple blankets, scarves and bags. One single hook to worry about. Years ago, there were hardly any crocheted garment patterns available. Books were really scarce. I actually got bored with crochet. That's when sewing came into the picture.

I experimented with lots of different knit fabrics. Learning about "ease" in the fabric made a huge difference whether the garment was going to fit or not. Too tight or too big. My full bust measurement is 36". In the sewing world, I would select a pattern size that would have a finished bust of around 33" as long as the knit fabric had at least 50% stretch lengthwise. I learned this through trial and error. When I come across fabrics that had less stretch, I would choose the size closer to my full bust measurement. Pretty simple. A lot of lessons learned.

Now, I have no problems measuring myself. I don't have any problems sharing it with you, my readers. I don't have a perfectly shaped body. I'm all over that. Have been for many years. I am comfortable with my size and shape. If I wasn't comfortable, I wouldn't be sewing and knitting for myself. I'd be making things for others, 7x24. How much fun could that be? Lets face it. We are not perfect.

Don't get me wrong, makings things for others is an enjoyable feat, a talent. It gives a me a lot of pleasure when I can give my handmade gifts to others and know they appreciate it. They will use it.

At the same time, I really enjoy making things for myself. I enjoy wearing my hand made garments and accessories. I enjoy the complements I receive. Most importantly, I enjoy using one of my talents and that is teaching. Too many times, I have heard "I could never make that" or "that's too difficult". Well, ladies & gents...let me share something with you. Get rid of the negativities. Get rid of the "box" that you put yourself into. Surround yourself with positive people. Surround yourself with beautiful yarns. There is no fear in knitting. The only fear you will encounter is the one you put upon yourself. Plain and simple.

As you can see, I am a fearless knitter. I'm proud of it. If I had let fear or other people's negativities influence me, I would not be where I am today. You would not see my almost daily posts here. You would have one less blog to read. We would have never met.

As I am finishing up my summer knit wardrobe, I am looking forward to the cooler weather of Fall. I have lots of patterns and ideas in my head and a nice selection of wools in my stash. I do not know what direction my knitting will take me. All I know is I'm going to have fun and knit the projects that inspire me.

The one thing I hope you take away from this post is: There is no fear in knitting.


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Update

I was catching up on my blog reading and came across Shear Bagatelle's post about a Yarn Personality Test over at FaceBook. Well, I don't normally take tests, but this one peaked my interest.

Here's the results of my test:

"I'm Delightfully Driven!
You want it all and you want it now! But, what's even better is that you're willing to give it all, too. You not only live life, you consume it. You want to experience everything that life has to offer. If you were a yarn, you'd be "Wild Stuff" from Prism."

What a great way to end my post for today! Happy Knitting!