The Struggle is Part of the Joy

I’m honestly having a lot of fun knitting these, but at the same time, I wish they were done already. I’m getting sweater fever and would rather be working on the visions in my head. Thankfully, I only have so many needles, so unless I want to put these projects on some scrap yarn, I need to finish these to be able move on. I also know that if I put these away now, I may never regain steam.

The Doctor Who scarf is like a fun counting game. All the color changes keep me motivated to keep going. “Only four more rows and I can add in the next color…Just two more to go…Nope. Still have ten more to go…” It’s pretty easy to take in the car. I only bring the colors I think I’ll need and I’m weaving in the ends every several color changes.

The shawl is really a joy, but the double strand has made it less fluid than it could be to knit. I’m delighted by the familiarity of it, having done it twice now, and am very set on finishing it just as I intended to. I do wish I had chosen larger needles to work with, though.

This is one of my favorite things about knitting. The struggle is part of the joy. Sometimes you toil away at something and eventually realize how unhappy it really makes you, even if it once brought you joy. Pulling all that careful work out and trying again and again until it comes out right can be one of the most rewarding experiences. Falling in and out of love with a garment, working on it and reworking it the whole way through, until, finally, one day you have a beautiful piece of fiber art. That struggle, makes the accomplishment so much grander.

Happy knitting.