Hilde's Corner - Try something new

Recently I wanted to start a new sweater, something light for those A/C cold buildings. I saw something that would fit the bill, but it was knit in sections, and I usually avoid those preferring to knit top-down and raglan. However, it occurred to me...I know it's not my preferred way, but why am I avoiding it at all costs? It's keeping me from what might be a perfect pattern otherwise. There's provably a "perfect" pattern out there, but many patterns will always have something about it that we would prefer not to do. And all patterns will have pros and cons, and we decide to put up with all sorts of cons to get at those pros. Granted, there are cons out there that are just not negotiable, but what about those that are really not so bad, and if we just bit the bullet, we could have all the pros that that pattern did have?

Like sewing up sections of a sweater. Sewing those seams up can take time, but didn't knitting the project take time too? The nice thing about knitting in sections, is the pieces are smaller than the entire sweater would be once you get to the point where it's pretty far along. If you're knitting in the summer, smaller pieces are easier on the lap than most of the entire sweater! For me, too, somehow it feels like knitting a sweater in pieces goes faster. Maybe it has something to do with reaching goals faster, like "Whoohoo! I got a front done!" or "Yay! A sleeve is finished!". Each piece is small so getting each piece done feels like a victory, and those victories come quickly.

So I urge you to revisit why you might be avoiding certain patterns. Think about when you were a beginner. Some things seemed hard and you never wanted to try that again, but many of you are no longer beginners. It might be time to revisit some of those things again that seemed hard when you were just starting out your journey. When I first tried lace, I was so frustrated I vowed to never do it again. I have since learned tips and tricks I didn't have the first time I tried, and now I love to knit lace and knit it a LOT!

I wish you luck in your fiber arts journey!