Hurry Up and Slow Down

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When I went up to the reference desk the other day . . . on some 'work-related-issue' . . . there sat Suzanne, getting the new magazines ready to be put out. So of course when she held up the new Vogue Knitting magazine . . . well, I may have forgot that I went up there on a 'work-related-issue'. I did what I always do . . . a quick scan through to see if any of the sweaters needed to go on my Oh-I-Love-This-I-Want-To-Knit-This List. Sadly, none of them really grabbed me. Suzanne agreed and I decided I could rationalize the time I spent looking through the magazine and discussing knitting as a 'readers advisory, book review sort of a thing. (I know it's stretching it, but . . . oh well).



I still took the magazine so I could read through it and see what's new in the fiber world. That's when I saw the article, 25 Tips for Faster Knitting by Leslie Petrovski. Right away I thought, Really? Faster knitting? Does everything have to be faster? People drive on the highway like they are trying out for NASCAR. We tap our feet and shift our weight when we wait in line at the grocery store. If we lose electricity and Nstar doesn't have it restored in an hour we rant and rave . . . (never mind if it's a blizzard with a foot of snow and a line is down and a human being has to climb a pole or something!)

Isn't it bad enough that I whip out my iPhone when I am driving with my husband so I can Google the answer to whatever the question of the moment is? I text my son and and worry what could have happened to him if he doesn't respond within 5 minutes. I make Minute Rice and I can heat up dinner in 5 minutes in the microwave. . . and now. . . well now I have to speed up my knitting?!

Then I slowed down (ironic, huh?) and actually read the article. Some of her hints I was already doing (use charts instead of written instructions, choose the best needles for your yarn, cable without a needle). Some I confess I will probably never do (have a deadline looming . . . sorry, I can't take that kind of added stress; don't drink alcohol while knitting . . . is wine alcohol?) And then I read her last tip - "Decide who you are as a knitter. Not everyone wants to set speed records." How true.

So here I sit with a glass of wine . . . .plodding along . . . still knitting my peach sweater with cables. I have been working on it since January. I still have a sleeve I haven't started. But when I pick up my needles a sense of calm comes over me and I realize I am sharing a craft that has been done for generations. A craft that came before the internet and electricity and even Addi-Turbo needles. I relax knowing that my decision was already made. I'm one of the knitters that isn't going to set any records. 

That being said, I would like to get this sweater done . . . I have my next project picked out . . . I just have to narrow it down to which one!

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.