Scratching the Knitting Itch

I have to admit – shawls, in the past, haven’t been my strong point. Sometimes it really is that hard to count to 5. Or 8. Or whatever.

But I am determined. Shawls are that much more interesting than scarves, and yet I can wear it like a scarf. To be honest, i’m not a big fan of drape-it-round-your-shoulders-like-in-the-1800s way of wearing them. Although that could always change – i’m not one to stand completely fast in my fashion opinions.

So, it is with baited breath I knit Haruni. Normally I am a product knitter – I knit stuff because I want it, and I want it yesterday. The thing that attracted me to Haruni, though, was the large leaf edging. Hmmm, that looks like a tasty challenge, I thought.

I haven’t reached that part of the chart yet. I’ll update you once I do!

Over at Scoutie girl, there is a very well-thought piece on paying the true value of ‘stuff’, and being more considerate of the ‘stuff’ we buy.

Though my involvement with Craft2.0, this issue comes up constantly. About the people who poke and prod our crafters’ precious things and say ‘I could make this myself’ or, ‘Wow, that’s a bit expensive.’

I’m curious as to if said people do go home and make the item themselves. Or, if they consider the time and effort gone into creating beautiful things. From the concept, to buying or making the materials, to the careful attention given to the small details, to the packaging, the emails, the customer service…

There is so much we don’t see of the process of making – in fact, the majority of the time all we see is the finished product. Surprise is often the first reaction when I tell people what I do. The second question they ask is, ‘oh, so you knit stuff and sell it?’

Most tend to be taken aback when I explain how much I would charge for a pair of hand knit socks if I were to fully value my time. Somewhere in the region of $400.

I suppose the point I am trying to make is – what we create is of value. Everything you knit (or sew, or crochet) is of value. In fact, it is the unique and one of a kind qualities push that value up even further. We invest ourselves in everything we make, and should be proud of what we produce. Even if we feel it is imperfect – think of the value of the lessons learned through making mistakes. Virtually everything I sew, or knit, or whatever, has something wrong with it – but that is just part and parcel of the hand made process.

Moral of the story: everything you create is worth something – don’t devalue it. And recognise the hard work of others.

Disclaimer: This isn’t a rant, or something I needed to say to prove a point to anyone. Just puttin’ it out there 😀

With a fizz and a pop a couple nights ago, I was thinking about it’s a tree. It happens a lot.

My dad (Tash’s Grandad) is in hospital with pneumonia. He’s been having chemotherapy the last couple of months and picked up a cold bug – quite possibly from us – a few weeks back at my Mum’s birthday party.