I would like to know why people who are brand-new to knitting think it should be easy. Is it because their “senile” old granny did it? So of course they should be able to do the same instantly and without a learning curve!
I’m still stirred up from an encounter with a woman who came into the shop knowing the backwards-loop cast-on and how to awkwardly form a knit stitch – and nothing else! – and insisted she wanted to make a sweater and wasn’t interested in learning to purl. Oh, and she didn’t want it to cost much because, you know, it’s just knitting.
Where is my incentive in this, I had to wonder, as someone who loves knitting and respects the craft, and as a shop owner? In her defense, this woman didn’t even know enough to know how much she didn’t know. However, her disdain for the skills needed to make a garment and her lack of interest in investing either time or money in learning was rather insulting. I’m sure she didn’t realize that. I’m sure she meant no offense. But I’ve seen so many of you learn so much and get so much satisfaction in a job well done, a garment that looks great and fits well or a gift that is perfectly made, that took experience, time, skill, and yes, money, to achieve.
I wonder, if she had decided to learn any other skill – downhill skiing, golf, tattooing, playing the piano – would she assume that all there was to it was strapping some boards to your shoes and shoving off from the top of a hill, or finding a stick and hitting a rock around a field, or getting a needle and some ink and start poking? Teed me off.
Okay, rant over. I admit, my patience is not what it once was. And what it once was was not all that abundant. In the end, after much resistance, I showed her how to purl (“Oh, that’s not hard.” – grrr!) and she decided to make a ribbed scarf to practice knitting and purling. I hope I never see her again. Which pretty much assures that I will!
Summer is over and so I must end my Summer of Garter Stitch. I love how my log cabin throw turned out, and I really, really enjoyed making it. It’s all stretchy and squishy and wrappy because I didn’t bind anything off until I did the borders. Which took a lot of extra cords to keep a lot of things on hold, but it was totally worth it for the coziness.
Terrible photo, sorry.
I’m chugging away on a scarf right now, and swatching a new yarn that I’m thinking of stocking. I have a great project for it which would make a good class. (Hope, hope!) Meanwhile, I’m expecting a stock order of our basics, Encore and Homestead from Plymouth, this week, so if you’re thinking of starting a project that needs a good worsted-weight, we will have a great selection, probably on Wednesday afternoon.
That’s it for now, it’s bill-paying day for the store. And they’ll all be paid, thanks to you all!!
