Knitting is harder than it looks. Harder than most people think it is.

I remember this when I am teaching a new knitter – when she is surprised that knitting doesn’t come naturally, when she expects perfection and is impatient with her mistakes and.  I remember this when I am helping someone tackle double-pointed needles (or cables or lace-weight yarn or Intarsia) for the first time.   There are struggles. 

I remember this when I am mastering a new lace stitch pattern – when I tink back and re-knit every few rows because I don’t have the rhythm and logic of it yet.  And when I move slowly through each and every row because I just cannot get into the rhythm at all or find any kind of logic (even though I understand how it works and how to do it!) – some lovely stitch patterns simply defy  intuitive process.

Sometimes the yarn of choice just won’t work with the pattern of choice.  Sometimes the stitch pattern doesn’t suit.  Sometimes it is a gauge issue or a numbers issue.  Sometimes it is the nature of the yarn fiber or how it was processed.

Sometimes I can make it work and sometimes I can’t.

And in the process, there are struggles.

I love knitting, but it is work. Real work — the kind that takes brains and skills and dexterity and patience and ingenuity.  I am always learning and always using what I have learned.

It does not escape me that the challenges of knitting are terribly intriguing and keep me coming back!  And, hey, it is okay that I have to work at it.  It is okay that you have to work at it too. It is worth it!

Maybe we knitters should all be wearing t-shirts that say “Yeah, go ahead and be impressed – it is harder than you think!”