It's a journey...don't give up too soon
"The goal is necessary, just as is the process toward the goal."
Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project
One of things that makes me happiest is teaching knitting. Sometimes I think I like that even more than knitting! When I first starting teaching, my goal was to create more knitters so I wouldn't be alone in this obsession that had gripped me. Now, my goal is to create more knitters so we can take over the world. It's important to keep raising the bar, right?
In my frequent contemplations of How Knitting is Like Life, I have noticed these parallels:
- It's a journey.
- Mistakes are not failure.
- Mistakes have lessons to teach us if we will listen.
- It's a daily thing.
- Some people will just never understand.
- Lots of people WILL understand, and they will also gladly join forces with you to take over the world.
- There's always something new to learn.
- Never give up.
I say this to students and fellow knitters, as well as to myself, A LOT:
"Don't feel bad about starting over again because it's all part of the learning process."
The reason I stress this so often is that, when I was a new knitter, I felt like such a tragic failure when I made a mistake and had to start over. All that time wasted!! Now I know better, and I want to make sure those whom I teach don't get too frustrated when mistakes happen or when they can't figure out a pattern or when their knitting mojo gets dimmed by using too much lower quality yarn (splitting, the struggle is real...).
In the meantime, if your knitting hits a snag and you're grumbling under your breath about starting over, AGAIN, take heart. Yes, that finished project, that goal, is important and someone might even be waiting impatiently for you to finish it, but the things you are learning as you find and correct your mistakes will make you a better knitter and a better person. Never give up.
Need some tips on how to find and fix mistakes in your knitting? I have a class coming up Saturday, May 16: Intro to Fixing Mistakes.