Live and Learn

“Any day you haven’t learned something, is a wasted day”; that’s what my mom always said. So, for the last 35 years, I’ve made it a point to not waste the day. the 1st eighteen years were pretty much a given; something was always new and, by the time I had reached eighteen, I was convinced I knew everything. Luckily I was wrong and still managed to learn a little something about life every day, the most important of which was that I wasn’t done learning. Fast forward to two years ago when I learned to knit; now, every day was a guaranteed learning experience.

Here’s (some of*) what I’ve learned, to date:

1. There’s no such thing as a problem/mistake which can’t be fixed, only a problem you can’t fix by yourself; it’s not a sign of weakness to ask someone, more experienced, for help.

2. Sometimes you simply have to put down the knitting and walk away from it. like cooking (or writing), no good can ever come from knitting while angry, upset or agitated

3. There will be times when the only way to solve a problem is to start over and that’s okay.

4. You can find anything on YouTube

5. Everyone who’s ever written about knitting (or has written a knitting pattern) is right: gauge swatches are necessary evil; it’s better to “waste” the time and yarn to make the 4X4 square than it is to waste an entire skein and an incalculable number of hours knitting a hat or gloves that won’t fit.

6. Absolutely nothing in knitting is impossible; it’s all just knits and purls.

7. Don’t judge your ability to do something based on one try.

8. There are a thousand ways to do everything and they are all (simultaneously) right and wrong; as long as yours works for you, go with it, but don’t be afraid to try a new one (see number 1).

9. Never write off a method, yarn, needle or project; revisit them occasionally because as your abilities change and grow, so will your appreciation for variety. you may grow to see the value of metal DPNS or **shudder** acrylic yarn.

10. Expensive yarn doesn’t always mean a great looking item or a pleasant knitting experience; ditto “popular” yarns.

11. Some people don’t deserve to get your knitted items; you know who those people are, don’t try and “win them over”, just knit for those who do and buy the other people gift certificates, instead.

12. Not every knitter is nice, just because they’re a knitter; knitters are people and some people are cunts.

13. Not all guys who knit are gay, but (like gay men) they should be seen (knitting) in public as often as possible to encourage other guys to “come out of the closet”; let 'em stare.

14. Six months is too long to wait for knitting needles (or any product, for that matter); they’re great, but they’re not magic. They’re just needles.

15. Never forget the Boy Scout motto: be prepared. always have your scissors, a darning needle, a small length of scrap yarn and a tape measure on you, just in case

16. If you think you’re going to finish a project or a skein of yarn while commuting, have a back up or at least a good book.

17. You really can never have enough stitch markers, patterns, yarn or needles; everything gets used and/or re-used at some point.

18. If you don’t like the patterns out there, write your own.

19. If you do like a pattern, tell the author; they love hearing that their work is appreciated.

20. It’s only knitting, which is supposed to be fun; it’s okay to shed blood and sweat over a project, but never tears. When it stops being fun, see number 2.

*some stuff has to be saved for the coffee table book…