I’m stuck in a knitting conundrum of sorts. First, a little
history.
Like most knitters, I awkwardly started my knitting journey
with clunky straights and squeaky acrylic. I slowly gained momentum knitting
with yarn held in my right hand* by going in through the front door {pause}, run
around the back {pause}, peek through the window {pause}, and off jumped jack!
This was fine for a while, but being a crocheter prior to learning to knit, I
soon was able to knit more efficiently with the yarn held in my left hand. I
got faster and faster and the knitting possibilities were endless.
Everything was good for a while, a long while I would say. I
could knit without looking, some knitters marveled at how fast I was, but I
think I even knew then that something was off. I’m what you call a tight
knitter. My tension was ALWAYS tight. It was to the point that I would automatically
swatch in a needle two sizes higher than the size recommended to get gauge. I
could only knit for a couple hours at a time before my left hand would start
cramping and my shoulders would get all tense. Also, I always rowed out and my
fabric was never even. I usually blocked the mess out of my knits to combat
this but it still never turned out as even as I’d seen others knit. I have to
admit that although I loved making things, I just didn’t love the process. I
fancied myself a product knitter and knitted until the pain in my hands told me
something had to give.
I went back to my roots, so to say, and trained myself to knit
with the yarn held in my right hand. I figured the best way to train my hands was
to knit a project so I dove right into the Tofino top from Knitting in the Sun.
I don’t exactly remember how, actually I think I was reading The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt and came across the term “lever
knitting”. I researched lever knitting, watched the youtube video of the YarnHarlot countless times, joined the rav group and practiced, practiced,
practiced. Like I said before, the best practice is to knit a whole project so
I knit a couple of project on long straight needles with the right one tucked
snuggly in my armpit.
I’m not going to lie, it took a couple of months for it to
feel less unfamiliar, but you know what? My hands didn’t hurt, and my shoulders
were not one bit tense. I couldn't believe how even my tension was and I was falling
in love with the process. I like the way my hands flowed, right hand swooping
around the needle as it formed each stitch. I was becoming a process knitter.
Then I noticed that although I fell back in love with
knitting, I couldn't figure out how to knit quicker. I recently realized this
when I lever knit a sock and it took me about a month, where it would usually
take me about a week or two in my left handed knitting days. I really wanted to
finish the socks so I went back to my default to knit the other one, which took
me about two weeks. You can really see the difference between my knitting
styles in this photo.
So here’s the question I keep asking myself; am I a process
knitter or a product knitter? I like lever knitting, it makes me happy. In the
words of KonMari, it sparks joy. On the other hand, I don’t want it to take
forever to knit something. I just started a sweater but I’m taking a crack at
my default knitting form, being mindful to keep my fingers loose and not tense
up. It seems to be working but I’m not enjoying the process as much. I keep on
second guessing if I should have done this project knitting the way that makes
me happy. Of course I can’t change in the middle of a project, so I’m stuck
knitting in my default for a while.
I guess the question will remained unanswered for a while. I’ll
knit on hoping that I can soon learn to increase my speed lever knitting and
all will be right with the world again.
Peace and Blessing
*I prefer to avoid using the terms "English" and "Continental" to describe knitting styles. I would much rather use the terms left handed and right handed knitting. Yeah, I'm weird like that.
