Making things harder for myself isn’t something new to me. I seem to do it with everything. I can’t possibly just follow instructions as written because that would be far too easy. Can I follow the same path that everyone else is treading? Nope, I have to veer off into the underbrush, snagging my clothes and getting scratches (and possibly poison ivy) all the while wondering why on earth it’s so hard to complete what it is I’m attempting.
This is something I’ve accepted about myself and yet still halfway through whatever it is I’m trying to do or learn I stop and go “Well, huh. Imagine that.”
Take my latest one of my obessions. Possessing fingerless gloves. Not just any fingerless gloves though. That would be far too easy. No, these have to be a pair of gloves created by Cheryl Niamath for Knitty.com called Dashing. I’ve been obsessed with these from the moment I laid eyes on them. These are the gloves that will CHANGE MY LIFE. Or something. All I know is that I instantly fell in love with them.
I think that I really wanted them because they seemed like a complicated project to undertake. Knitting on double pointed needles (DPNs) was foreign to me. Cables, I had practiced a bit, but never in a project before. What wasn’t to love? I’d learn to knit on dpns, I’d do some cables, and then I’d have myself a fun pair of gloves.
And a year later I’m still without them.
It turns out that knitting on DPNs is not only not for everyone, but it’s freaking hard. So many pointy little bits all over the place. All at once. I think I’ve tried to start these no less than 6 times. I have a feeling that this is going to be a lot like learning to crochet, though that I had to learn backwards. I predict that if I can ever find someone to sit down with me and show me how to do it there will be a lot of yelling at needles and yarn and words will fly that would make a sailor blush. It’s a process. It’s how I function.
Then I thought about buying a pair on Etsy and while there were some really beautiful ones available and they had cables I disliked something about every pair I saw. Too many cables. Not enough cables. Too long. Not long enough. Not the right color. Too dark. Too light… And then I realized that the only way I’d be happy with a pair of fingerless gloves, truly happy, were if I made them myself. Which is sad because it’s so much easier to buy handmade things by skilled people instead of trying to master that skill yourself.
Until I can get in line with everyone else though (those who can do and those who can relinquish complete control of how their perfect garment should look) I decided to experiment. Who doesn’t love a good experiment? I certainly do. And most times they work. Sometimes they don’t, but that’s life right? I’ve nothing to lose expect time by taking this gamble and a pair of gloves to gain if it works out the way I want it to.
So instead of continuing to try and knit these gloves on DPNs (per the instructions and probably the easier, smarter way to knit them) I’ve decided to knit them on straight needles which is interesting because I get to reverse every other row. Which is confusing. And I’ve learned the valueable skill of UNknitting without dropping any stitches.
My knitting is terribly slow. Horribly slow. Grass grows faster than I knit. So to make things more interesting I’ve decided to try and set my deadline for having these gloves done (IF they work out that is) by October 12th. This is a date of our office retreat where we’ll be sitting outside in a pavillion all day. In the cold. Where there will be no walls to block the wind. In October. Where it will probably be around 60 degrees if we’re lucky and possibly wet.
So here is my progress. I’ve almost come to the portion where I’m supposed to put in the extra bit of a different color yarn to make the thumb hole which scares me shitless (Yarn that isn’t tied down to anything! That could fall out! At any moment!!!). How I’m going to make the thumb, I haven’t decided. I may fake it with some crochet. I’m good at doing crochet ribbing and while it may look a bit different, these are for me and don’t have to be absolutely perfect. Just mostly perfect. I’ll most likely end up agonizing over the final product in any event so let’s all just go with it ok? Once this is done, I’m going to attempt to seam them up and make a tube. I’m excited.
