Are You Serious?

I sometimes wonder if I am a serious knitter. I don't follow specific designers, I am not interested in becoming a designer, I don't know a whole lot about yarns (I know what I like, and while I'm always willing to experiment with yarns, and I have my favourites, I have been told by People Who [Think] They Know that my favourites are rather pedestrian), and I've never knit socks. I read other knitting blogs, and the authors wax rhapsodic about this designer or that. Um, who? Should I know who this person is? I think I have Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears, but I don't consider it my bible. Hell, I don't consider any book my bible.

I am in danger of being exposed as a fraud.

But I like to knit. I always have a project in my backpack. I have no problem whipping it out and working on it when I'm waiting at the doctor's office or if I get to class early. I like to make hats. There is nothing quite so satisifying as finishing a hat that I know will keep someone's head warm. I like to make sweaters. Hell, I like making sweaters so much, I've got at least eight of them on the needles right now, in various stages of completion. Does this make me a process knitter? Or a product knitter? I don't know

I think what I like about knitting is the yarn. I like the feeling of various yarns against my hands as I make each stitch. I like to collect the yarn. This might be why my yarn stash has gotten so completely out of control. As Miz Lucy says, "The hobby of collecting yarn and the hobby of knitting are two different hobbies, which only sometimes intersect." Sometimes I like a specific yarn for what it will do. Sometimes for how it feels. Sometimes for how it looks. Berocco Ultra Alpaca is an example of the first, it combines the elasticity of wool with the warmth of alpaca. My favourite worsted for hats. And such great colours. I like Rowan's British Sheep yarns, the way they smell like sheep, the way they feel, rich in lanolin. I like Cascade Pastaza for scarves and hats. The colours are intense and the yarn is soft and warm. And I've got my eye on some Malabrigo Rios. Just as soon as I come up with a project for it, since I'm trying oh-so-hard not to buy yarn just to add to my stash. 

Maybe I'm not serious about knitting. Maybe I'm just a hobbyest. Just give me some sticks and some string, and I'll happily sit in the corner and knit the evening away.