What makes a great knitter?

I used to attend a craft group at a local church. One day I was taking a break from knitting and sitting with the cross stitchers. This particular table had a self elected “leader” who made sure we all knew her opinions about this craft. Her big “thing” was the state of the back of our projects. In her opinion, the back must look as neat as the front. Well....if I could have super glued my project to my lap I would have! In hindsight, my work wasn't overly untidy as I did make sure to snip threads and to sew ends in instead of knotting, but the way she was going on made me feel like I just wasn't good enough. Needless to say, the next week I scurried back to the safety of the knitting group!

When I look at sites like Ravelry I am amazed at the awesome talent in the knitting and crochet world. As I gaze longingly at the lacy shawls, complex arans and beautifully crafted socks, to name but a few, I sometimes get a sinking feeling in my stomach that says “you could never do that”.

Why on earth not? What makes one knitter better or more competent than the next? Obviously there are a myriad of reasons, but I would like to demystify some of the hype about what makes a great knitter.

Firstly, do you love knitting, no matter what skill level you are currently at? If your answer is yes, then in my opinion you are a great knitter! By the way, feel free to substitute crocheter whenever you like. I love both crafts and struggle with some of the concepts in both areas so you are not alone.

Secondly, do you feel bad if you only use cheaper yarns/straight needles/patterns published by large yarn companies? Don’t fall for this one! As long as you enjoy what you do and are proud of your creations, you can use whatever yarns and tools you like! Yes, I will admit there is a lot of support for boutique designs and hand spun/hand painted yarns these days. This can only be a good thing, as it keeps the knitting world evolving and interesting, but that surely doesn’t exclude the knitter who loves making granny square rugs out of acrylics, or sticks to what she or he knows works.
I've added some picks here of 3 pairs of socks that I wear a lot and that all have built in "issues".  The first pair, apart from being a bit big, have been hiding a dropped stitch which I only noticed today!

Heirloom Jigsaw socks that were a bit big but still fit nicely inside my winter boots

Wendy Happy socks that could have been a bit tighter

Naturally Waikiwi socks that strangely turned out different lengths!

Lastly, are you willing to keep trying until you fix the mistake/learn the new stitch or technique? Then you are a great knitter. Don’t think for one moment that prize winning garments were created without mistakes being made along the way. You can be sure where there are knitted rows there will be some hair pulling and swearing. Just because you don’t admit to it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen!

The Joys of Vintage Knitting

I was recently the lucky recipient of a pile of old knitting patterns.  When I say old, I mean 1940s to about 1982.  I've had a ball looking through them and imagining how I could adapt some of these patterns to today's modern yarns.

2ply Lace Shawl New Idea Knitting Supplement 1960s

Looking through these patterns got me thinking – what has changed since, say, the 1950s, when hand knitting was a normal household pursuit, rather than the hobby that it is today?  Have mass produced garments replaced the appeal of a hand made individual garment, or have the age old skills died out to the point where making your own garments isn't even considered?

Eve Lyn Baby Set 1949

Let's take baby clothes for an example.  Back in the day (choose your favourite time period), women mostly were stay at home wives and mothers.  They hand washed most of their laundry, and there wasn't the range of fashions changing every season to choose from.  When a new baby was announced, a small army of family members would take up the tools and knit pretty much everything the baby would need for the first few months at least.  These garments would be handed down as heirlooms.  Of course there were always jumpers and cardigans for older children, lovingly knitted by grandma and given as Christmas presents (Thanks Gran!  This is so much better than Lego!)

Ladie's 2 piece suit Patons Baldwin No. 129

The bit that gets me is the time it took to knit back in the day.  Yarns were generally a fine 2 or 3ply and needles were either straight or double pointed.  None of your 2 socks on 2 circulars jiggery-pokery.  Combine this with an often complicated lace pattern and it's a wonder anyone got their dinner on time!  Several of the patterns are for baby shawls – cast on 400 or so stitches then follow a 24 row lace pattern for many repeats, THEN do a border...phew!

Ladie's Swing Jacket Patons No. 696 1960s

Time warp to the new century...shawls for women's general wear are back in vogue.  Complicated lace patterns are again the order of the day and socks?  Does anyone actually knit a plain unpatterned sock these days?  Well yes they do, albeit from handspun and handdyed yarn from a limited one off batch spun by the knitter.  The choice of yarns is huge and you could never even start to have a bit of every yarn currently produced (I know plenty of people who are trying though!).  Knitting has become the pastime of thousands of women and men and we can only hope they are teaching their children this noble art.  After all, now that knitting and sewing is no longer being taught in school, where are the new breed going to learn these valuable life skills?