Knit boldly!

my yarn bomb has become somewhat of a little experiment.

on sunday hubby watched a car do a u-y in the street, and we watched a lady get out of the car and take a picture of "knotty knitter".

today a little girl that the boy walks home from school with inquired "who made this?"

when mom came to watch the kiddos and to take the boy to choir, she asked who made the signs on the sign post.  she thought the neighbors papered it for new years.  i told her it was made by the "knotty knitter".  she gave me a shocked look, then smiled and asked how i did it.

i think she got it.  i hope others are too.


some people don't get it tho.  at knitting on monday night, i took along the yarn bombing book, along with the other knitting books i got for christmas, for the others to peruse.  the "sweater lady", as i call her, looked at the book and inquired about the pictures.  how did someone knit something for around a tree?  did they knit it so the tree would grow into it?  most importantly, who and why would someone want to do that to a tree/sign/bench/whatever to begin with?

i knew then and there i couldn't brag about my tag.  she didn't get it.  no one in the group did.  it made me a bit sad and a little angry too.


a favorite saying by EZ is "knit on with confidence and hope, through all crisis".  that's why i took on the challenge of yarn bombing my street sign.  i wanted to take a knitting risk and put my knitting soul out on display for a change.  seeing other people's reactions to my tag makes me want to knit more things and yarn bomb my town.  there is a pattern for knitted chucks that would look awesome hanging from the street lines.  i can imagine EZ doing some yarn bombing of her own - perhaps perching a hat on a statue, or leaving a pi shawl on a bench for someone to discover.




as a knitter, i seek projects that help me stretch and grow as a knitter.  knitting should be an adventure!  that's one reason why i love going to KDO.  there is always something new to learn.  the sweater lady also made a rather snotty comment about my new stitch and bitch book saying they were things she wouldn't knit.  well, i don't see me knitting the fertility blanket myself, but i admire it and other patterns in the book.  a good knitter looks at a pattern and respects it even tho she probably wouldn't knit it.  i love new yarns and trying them out - while i love my old standards, i like me a nice hank of handspun.  there is a huge difference between a ball of red heart and a hank of tosh vintage.  


i feel a bit sad for the sweater lady, who knits sweaters and not much else.  i feel bad for my teacher, who knits mostly socks and teddy bears.  i don't want to be like them.  i don't want to have years of knitting experience and not want to learn a new technique.  i hope 20 or 30 years from now, i'm still knitting socks but using different patterns, or knitting sweaters for my grandchildren (ye gods!), and still learning.




i mentioned my PSOTMC goals for this year, but i plan on knitting more than just socks!  i plan on casting on a february lady sweater and actually knitting a real sweater!  i want to knit hubby a sweater - i have 10 skeins of plymouth aran yarn - finding the perfect simple pattern is a trip!  i want to make another pair of mittens for myself.  i have a bunch of UFOs that i should finish.  i'm also thinking about my fair knitting - a pair of socks, a shawl, maybe my quilt blanket?  this is what's fun about being a knitter - dreaming about future projects!  




to that end, i say, KNIT BOLDLY!  let this be the year to learn something new!  break out of the rut and find a different way of knitting something you usually knit.  explore new yarns - there are many fabulous spinners and designers out there.  knit outside of the box.