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

Vent

Okay, so most of the people I meet in Etsy's chat rooms are awesome. HOWEVER, there are a few who have been driving me NUTS.

It is SO RUDE to assume that just because someone compliments you on your work that they want to buy it and to then harrass them about it every time you see them thereafter!!!! And then you act all surprised and/or RUDE when I finally politely tell you to leave me alone and you act like you don't know what I'm talking about!!!!

Asking me "do you have the money yet" for something that I NEVER said I would buy, or "are you ready to buy ______ yet" when AGAIN I never said I would buy from you is really asking for me to come back at you full-throttle. Don't do it.

Little Lambie #2

O.K. so here he is: the other lamb vision I came up with:








...and I don't think I like it. I think he's cute, but he didn't come out exactly like I was hoping he would. At least this one has legs, a tail, and isn't balding though, lol. But his legs are too short... note to self for next time.

And as for the face and ears, well, I don't know. Which one do you prefer? Lambie 2, or Lambie 1 (posted below)?:


Please let me know which one you prefer, and why, if you don't mind!!! I really appreciate your input!!! :) Thanks!

Bored... and Unmotivated

Lately I've been feeling really unmotivated to work on my stuff. What do you all do when you feel this way? Any special tricks or techniques for snapping out of it?

Little Lambie

Okay, so last post for tonight: an update on my needle felted lamb. I'm having problems with this little guy:



He needs more wool and he also needs legs; but these are not the problems. The problems are his ears and his nose/mouth. Do you think his ears are too long? And is his nose/mouth messed-up-looking (for lack of a better adjective)? PLEASE give me your honest opinion. I am thinking of lopping off his ears and making them shorter, and I'm also thinking of giving him a nose job... should I?? Or should I leave him as is and try out my new ideas on lambie #2??

Okay so I am lazy when it comes to updating this blog! Oh well. I feel motivated now, so I'll post a couple things!

Firstly (is that a word?), I have some new springtime needle felted creations available in my Etsy shop (link is in the upper right)! The yellow "chick" (now a duck... couldn't get the beak pointy enough) now has eyes and also a little meadow with flowers and actually already sold! But I do have another one up for sale.


"Bobblehead Bunny" is my newest creation and is also for sale:


And I also made some 3D flowers using applique molds! Here is the large rose (my favorite):


One thing I'm finding about needle felting is that it's nearly impossible to make an exact replica of something you've made before (unless you're using a mold). This can be both frustrating and exciting. I've heard this before: that each critter or piece you make will end up having it's own "personality". For example, I'm not as happy with Bobblehead Bunny 2 as I am with the bunny head that is shown in my avatar. Also, the tinier the piece you are creating, the harder it is to add detail, and therefore the harder it is to reproduce it. Oh well! There are bigger things in life to worry about!