Craftically speaking....

Is craftically a word? It is now! Craftically speaking, I am all over the map. I love to create things, and I have tried my hand at lots of them. I even have an entire room in my house dedicated to crafts. It is full of things I dabble at: scrapbooks, cards, mosaics, stamps, paints, papers, scissors, pens, glitter (oh yes, there must be glitter), ink, silk flowers, ribbons, beads, yarn, needles, thread, fabric. You name it, I probably have it. And it is fun to have a project to do and make something beautiful (or cute) that makes one proud of their crafty prowess.

And yet, there are problems with this too. I find that since I don't delve deeply into anything, I just skim the surface. And all the supplies and effort I begin with leaves a room full of unfinished craft projects. For instance, 2 Christmases ago I was making everyone a mosaic gift. I finished 3, I believe, and the other 15 hundred sit in a pile in one corner. Then there was the wild hair I had that I was going to start an Etsy store and sell cards and paper goods. I did indeed sell a few things, but I was never thrilled with the paper products I was producing. And there were too many other things that were catching my attention and drawing me away. I am like a magpie in my craft room, really. I flit from shiny object to shiny object and never stick with anything seriously for more than a month or so.

That is why this blog exists. I have decided that it is time to stop being a crazy butterfly and settle down to one craft and do it in-depth and obsessively for a year. I want to see how my skills and talents develop when I really apply myself to something. And I chose knitting as my lucky craft. And there are several reasons for this which I will set forth to you:

1. Knitting is portable. I can take my needles and yarn anywhere and work. This is going to be highly useful because I haven't been home a lot lately. I just know one day my husband and I will come home and the cat will have sold our belongings at auction and moved to the south of France. We are both working on a writing project with another wonderful writer and we are trying to get it going. Therefore portability is key. I can work in the car when we go on trips (for instance, we are going to the Florida Keys next weekend). And I can work on knitting while I am sitting in front of the TV. I don't do that much anymore, but when I do, I find my hands itch to be busy with something.
2. Knitting is not messy. I love making mosaics. I love working with paper. I love stamping. But each time you want to engage in one of these crafts, you have to drag out your supplies, make a huge (mostly glorious) mess, and then clean up. And usually you have too much stuff to take it anywhere else but your home. That's why knitting is also excellent - it gives me the freedom to work without making a mess that needs to be cleaned up. With knitting, you just wrap up your work, stick it in canvas bag, and it's all done!
3. Knitting is utilitarian. I can't wear a mosaic. But I can wear a scarf, hat, mittens, sweater, or bag. Generally, the first four I can wear for about 15 minutes here in Southwest Florida, but other people I know and love can wear them.
   
4. I already know how to knit. Well, sort of. I learned how to knit your basic knit and purl stitches about 5 years ago, just before I moved to Florida. I was in a knitting frenzy back then, and I really liked it. But when I moved to Florida I found that knitting isn't the most practical of crafts. So why go back to it? Well, I figured the weather can go hang itself. I like knitting and I can make more than just hats and scarves for crying out loud. I still do need to increase my skill set. I can knit in the round and do decreases, and in theory I can do increases, though I have never tried. I would love to learn how to make cables and different types of stitches. And I will! That is what this year is for. To focus my creativity. But you already knew that.
5. Yarn is amazing. I don't have much of a yarn stash, I must admit. I've read of other knitters. Crazy Aunt Purl and The Yarn Harlot both talk about insanely huge and crazy stashes. I have been to yarn stores before and felt the pull of gorgeous wools, silks, and cashmere. It could become a problem. But hey, at least I'm not shooting heroin, right?

I think you see why I have chosen. It wasn't because I love knitting over anything else I have tried. I have known for a long time that I had to pick something and stick with it, I just couldn't choose. Well, it is January and I feel like knitting. So there, now I am stuck with it for the next 12 months. If I find I am sick of it by next January, I'll try something else. I just really wanted to do this as an experiment to see if I could. I am not going to put any sort of pressure on myself. ("Gee, this is awesome! I should sell these and make some money!") I am going to do it for my own pleasure and see what comes of it.

Now that I've said, "no pressure" (snort) I am going to set some goals for myself, just so 12 months from now I don't end up with a million scarves and cell phone cozies.

1. I will learn new skills. This means I will keep trying new things that I haven't done before, no matter how scary they may seem.
2. I will seek a knitting community. (Whether or not we want each other remains to be seen.)
3. I will chronicle my projects, review books, and yarn stores here. (As a librarian, I can't help reviewing books. It is an occupational hazard.)
4. I will drive my husband crazy. (That will probably be just a lucky bonus.)