Moving on (if only our country could, sigh), I've been thinking about all of the crafts lately. And how enjoyable they are, and the fun of seeing what you can do, admitting what you can't or don't like to do, and finding like minds who feel as you do. I am ridiculously happy with the friends I've made through knitting especially, since most of the other crafts I can do pre-date Ravelry, blogs, etc. Though many of said friends are multi-craftual as well, which is nice.
And so, we are exposed to so much more than we could have ever come across on our own. I will happily admit that an awful lot of the things I have knit or plan to knit were randomly discovered through Ravelry, blogs, and podcasts. Left to my own devices, I'm not sure I would have ever become acquainted with most of the designers and patterns out there. So much to see! So much to knit! So much yarn!
I mean - YAY!, right??
With all of that wonderfulness out there, then why are some things so hard? Why, when I can knit a sock, can I not successfully wrap my brain around the technique known as Wrap and Turn? I can zoom along on a pair of fingerless gloves, but a 4-stitch lace repeat boggles my mind, and has to be torn out and redone several times, or even sometimes just abandoned altogether. And OH MY GOD what is with the "decrease 4 stitches at the beginning of every fourth row, at the same time as you are standing on your head and baking a cake from scratch." (OK, that's an exaggeration, but you get my drift, right?)
These are just a few of the things that make me stabby when I'm knitting. I cannot tell you how many You Tube videos I have watched about Wrap and Turn, and other equivalent methods, and the whole thing still evades me. I'm sure that someday the light bulb will turn on and I'll finally understand it. But in the meantime, I will admit that I tend to avoid patterns where this is mentioned at all.
True, it is not necessary to know how to do everything there is to do in knitting, or any other craft. And there are some things I've been able to figure out well enough to enable me to finish something, and then decided that I would avoid it in the future. We all find the kinds of things we like to knit, and some techniques "take" while others just never, ever do.
What are the things that are hard for you? Do you forge ahead and do it until you have it seared into your brain, or are you like me, and you avoid it like the plague whenever possible? Surely I'm not the only knitter or crafter who gets frustrated from time to time when I just can't get something to work.
Feel free to share in the comments. If I can manage to get my act together, I may even do my best to respond!
