11 Inches of Mobius Scarf
There it is: all the progess I've made so far on the (somewhat altered) Mobius Scarf from Arctic Lace. It's not quite 11 inches' worth.
My husband keeps asking me how many man-hours have gone into it (he listens to a lot of cursing when I have to rip back to the life lines) and I tell him he's missing the whole point of knitting: it's not about the product, it's about the process.
I think a lot of people don't get that about knitting. It would be vastly cheaper and more efficient for me to go out and buy a lace scarf but that wouldn't give me the pleasure of making something beautiful with my hands. It also wouldn't keep me entertained through endless innings of Yankees baseball.
Writing is the same sort of thing. I could write faster and more efficiently than I do but then I wouldn't enjoy the process itself. Nor would my books be as good. Good books need time to percolate in my subconscious, for the characters to fill out all their dimensions, and for the plot to thicken. I love spending time with my characters and I don't want to race through to the end because then I have no excuse for hanging out with them anymore.
So this started out being a post about lace knitting and somehow changed completely (just like my books do).
So tell me what knitting is about for you: process or product? Or both?
Labels: Lace knitting, Mobius scarf
posted by Nancy Herkness at 11:45 PM
5 Comments:
OMG, Nancy! The scarf is absolutely breathtaking!! What lace motif are you using?
Process or product? Depends on my mood. I keep random balls of yarn scattered around the house like human catnip and love to cast on at will and play with different stitch patterns or techniques just for the sheer fun of it. But I also love churning my way through acres of garter stitch or racing down the instep of a sock because I can't wait to see the finished product.
Not much of an answer, is it?
PS: Bright yellow cars = vintage VW Bugs and PT Cruisers.
Your scarf is aboslutely perfect - I have the overwhelming urge to cast aside my current crocheted caps obession and slide back into the wisps of lace!
When my children were little knitting was definitely a production line effort. From socks to hats ( and all body parts in between) on 3 wee girls was a non-stop knit-a-thon. Now my girls have grown I knit for pleasure so definitely a 'process' thing. I go through periods of one style ( socks/lace/top down/bulky, etc) then something else catches my eye and I'm off on a new whimsy.As a result I have a serious bag full of UFOs I truly MUST finish or unpick one day. Fortunately one day never comes so I'll just keep happily 'playing'.
Enjoy your lace pilgrimage.
Thanks, Barbara! It's the exact pattern for the Mobius scarf, except a little narrower. I cast on 49 instead of 69 stitches because I wanted it to go faster and I don't intend to sew the ends together.
I'm a big believer in combinations: enjoying both the process and the product. It's sort of like the nature vs. nurture debate on child-rearing. It seems obvious to me that both play into the child's development. How could they not?
Kozmic, I take it you are a happy lace knitter? How do you keep focused and sane when knitting lace?
Nancy - I keep sane because I only knit lace when I feel the muse. if I try to make myself work on it then thats when the mistakes happen. If I'm in a 'lace-space' then it simply flows happily. My children are school age so I steal moments during the day to work a few rows. I find more knitting is done in a snatched 15 minutes than sitting down in the evening. Then I'm always interrupted or distracted.
Ah, "lace-space". I like that concept. I think there's a lot in it too; you do have to be in the zone to do it. I'll keep that in mind. And cast on an easier project for those times when I can't get my lace chi centered. Thanks for the good "kozmic" advice. ;-)
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