In the knitting world, WIPS can be a dirty word. Is it for you?
For me, fiber is my job. I knit and crochet often. But there are days, weeks even, when I have nothing to show for all my knitting, between swatching, sketching, tinking, and ripping back. It’s those times when I look at my ever-growing stash and think, “I haven’t knit anything” or “I don’t have time to knit proper”. But it’s all in my own head, isn’t it? I look at the couple rounds I put in on the latest sock while waiting in the pickup line at school, or the few rows on the cowl while I wait for the pot to boil to put in the spaghetti in. THAT is not nothing. There are a lot of those little moments of knitting and crocheting that do add up to progress and shouldn’t be discounted.
For me, fiber is my job. I knit and crochet often. But there are days, weeks even, when I have nothing to show for all my knitting, between swatching, sketching, tinking, and ripping back. It’s those times when I look at my ever-growing stash and think, “I haven’t knit anything” or “I don’t have time to knit proper”. But it’s all in my own head, isn’t it? I look at the couple rounds I put in on the latest sock while waiting in the pickup line at school, or the few rows on the cowl while I wait for the pot to boil to put in the spaghetti in. THAT is not nothing. There are a lot of those little moments of knitting and crocheting that do add up to progress and shouldn’t be discounted.
The fact is, particularly us women, we beat ourselves up too much. We want to present that outward facing side of perfection to the world. We expect everything to be done now. All tasks must be done in 24-hours. We’re all on this 24-hour cycle where if we didn’t get it done today, take a perfect picture, and post it perfectly filter on Instagram, we didn’t check off the list, we are not good enough. To that I say, so what? Okay, sure I didn’t knit for 5 straight hours today – that probably would be too healthy anyway. When you add it all up, I might get more than 5-hours of knitting and crochet by the end of the week. And that is something to be proud of and cherish.
We make time for the things that are really important. If it is a priority, make space for it. But don’t judge your success by what you have accomplished over short periods of time. Look back on the span of a week, a month, a year, and take stock of what you have accomplished. The holidays are coming and we will be under tight deadlines. Set realistic goals and celebrate, with everything you have going on, that you were able to accomplish what you did.
“Perfectionism is not a prerequisite for anything but pain.”
― Danna Faulds
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P.S. I just wanted to share real quick a massive sale Knit Picks is having. Make sure you don't miss it and get going on those Holiday knits and crochets!
Tian, thank you. An artist's world, any kind of artist, can be really overwhelming at times. Wait... at times? ALL the time. Thank you for saying this today, because it's something I really needed to hear. I am so focused on presenting that finished piece, that object, be it for sale or for just a personal accomplishment, that I don't count all the work that goes into it in the meantime. I appreciate your words today so much!
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