Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Nervous Knitter

I am, what some people would call, a "nervous knitter". Certain things about knitting that I haven't tried yet scare me and make me feel anticipatory anxiety. It's silly, I realize, to be afraid of a pair of not-so-pointy needles and a ball of wool, yet I am. Yet at the same time I truly desire to try new things and expand my knitting boundaries. So far I have mastered the following (with great mental anguish ahead of time):

cables
changing colors
entrelac
lacework ("easy"-level)
increasing
decreasing
using markers
making something in 3D
fulling (felting)


Sage Green Braided Cable Scarflette Neckwarmer

Things I still need to master and that continue to give me the chills every time I think about it:

double-pointed needles
fair isle/intarsia
making a sweater
making socks
making gloves
making a hat
following a chart


Knitted and Needle Felted Violet Rose Clutch

And some of these are combined: like, I need to be able to use double-pointed needles to make the hat and the gloves I want to make. And the silly thing is, once I try it, I am fine. It is all anticipatory anxiety. I guess what I'm afraid of is that I will fail, and that I will waste time and energy on something that turns out to be no good. Never mind the fact that all of the other things I have tried have turned out fine...


Knitted and Felted Scoop Bag

So do any of you get nervous with certain crafts or trying new things? Would love to hear from you!

7/9/10 UPDATE!

I have now become much less of a nervous knitter, and have attempted and conquered most of the items on my "scary list": double-pointed needles, fair isle, making a sweater, making socks, making a hat, and following a chart! The only one that I have tried and NOT conquered now is the intarsia -- that still kicks me butt! Oh well... I'm just glad I've gained so much more confidence! :D

4 comments:

  1. I mostly get nervous about what OTHERS think...that they will not like my creations, or have disappointment once they get the item, or not see it the same way I do. I am forever asking people over and over if they are SURE they like what I have made....

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  2. I understand the anticipatory anxiousness! The idea of dealing with those knitting/crochetting diagrams frustrates me. Sometimes I just plunge in and make it up as I go to avoid that fear. Other times I just suck it up and have patience and follow the instructions and things go okay. I have a great crochet book and I spent some time practicing stitches over and over which really helped. I recommend any crochet books with lots and LOTS of pictures over weird diagrams....

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  3. Lrc -- I have found youtube to be extremely helpful with new techniques too!

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