How to EZ Tension

Well, another weekend has ended. I expected to return to work all in knots and unprepared for the work week. Instead, I entered the door with a wonderful vigor brought on upon the first snow and left with the same upbeat attitude. Today was one of those amazing knit days. I was able to gift an Irish Hiking Scarf in Cashmerino Aran to a friend (pictures this weekend hopefully). Her expression was of course worth all the hours that I put into it. I felt like I lived with the project and really understood how it worked by the time it was over. Blocking it was like getting prepared to say goodbye. Then, when it was all rolled up with a ribbon tied around it, I felt like I was giving a new friend to another new friend. I can already tell this will be a scarf she'll wear for years.

While the joy of giving a present is hard to top, my weekend proved that I can be a master of my domain. Ok, not really. But I learned that I can turn a darn good hem. I'm starting my first Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater- and it's more than I could have imagined it to be. Some people might say the endless stockinette for the body is mind numbing and there might be some truth there. It's just what I need right now. I feel a great joy come over me as I'm working on this. It doesn't look like much now. Not much at all in fact. If you were to see me while I'm working on it, you'd be overwhelmed with this little grin I have on my face. That's where the power is- you'd know there's some magic going on there.

The only bothersome aspect is the Barbara Walker inside of me providing some discontent about all the stockinette. All the time it's

"Throw in some cables!'

"You have so much of that lovely Bordeaux color left over- why not do some mosaic knitting?"

"Come on, you can at least do a stripe Jeff"

"What about that sideways stitch on Jamesey? You always liked that one"

"STEEK IT! STEEK IT NOW!"

"Pssst. I'll give you a dollar if you do some twisted stitches"

But I have to put her and her nagging to rest. Barbara, this is MY sweater. You can offer me your entire Treasury series but I won't budge on this; My Official EZ Tension Relief Sweater in fact. A suitable first project for the blog, no?

The two knitting forces in my brain are at work but I have to let one of them take a break for a while.

Now it's time for...

HEINOUSLY TENSE MOMENT

This time, my tense moment comes in the form of this whole blogging situation. I put so much pressure on myself to describe my knitting but the faceless crowd that is blogging makes it difficult for me. I love writing letters for instance- it gives me an exact audience to appeal to that I can steer my content towards. But this situation incurs so much tension. Who's going to enjoy what I'm reading? I'm always wanting to talk about how knitting makes me feel- to me it's just as important as what I'm knitting. I didn't want to write anything actually- why blog in the first place if it's not going to fit for me?

I'll tell you why. My attitudes toward blogging are equivalent to this sweater knitting. The people whom I've really discussed knitting with know I was putting all this pressure on myself to make this first sweater- worrying about all the details. I think I took 2 weeks just to pick out the hem facings yarn. Wanting something to be just right is antithetical to progress if you take it that seriously. I don't want to do that anymore.

One more entry made. A sweater on the needles.

I'd say another tense moment has been overcome.