This week I have been doing a lot of the knitting that is not knitting. You know what I mean, right? The sewing up and weaving in yarn ends and blocking. The finishing. But also the starting up — winding yarn, figuring numbers (for adjusting a pattern or for designing), measuring and extrapolating. No swatching yet — but the week is not over! I have done some teaching and fixing for students, too. A little yarn hunting for a couple of friends. A slightly panicked search for the actual directions for the stitch pattern I had swatched up for my Autumn Q’mitl (usually I have the copied directions or the book of stitch patterns in the bag with the yarn & swatch – but for some reason I had just a pretty swatch and no clue as to how I had knit it!).
These are the most stressful parts of knitting. Decisions made at the beginning which will determine the whole success of the project. And the fiddly finishing tasks which can really impact the look of the piece.
But it is all kind of thrilling, too! Blocking is especially dramatic. Saturating the garment in a bucket of water, pulling out the dripping glob of slithery wet-wool-smelling goo that is the result of hours & hours & hours of work. Laying it out on towels, poking, stretching, scrunching, molding it like clay. Then walking away. And waiting. Returning the next day to find that your goo has turned into a stunning butterfly!
The only part of knitting that I really wish would do itself while I am asleep is the weaving in of yarn ends. Though now that I think about it, that would be creepy.