How To Keep Knitting Exciting!

This episode explores your knitting questions: "How do I keep from getting burned out with my knits? How do I find the perfect cast on?  and What do I do to keep knitting exciting?"
(You always ask the best questions! Keep them coming.)
We have all been there, frustrated with the project we thought was the one, confused by the lack of excitement after the 3rd row, or looking for laundry to fold because we lost our knitting mojo (please tell me none of us have ever felt this!)
Join me for today's episode with secret sauce ingredients starting with 3 E's and 1 C!
I hope a few of my ideas will help, but remember: Your ideas also matter! So hop on over to the show notes for this episode and offer your take on knitting helps!

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Transcript

Melissa Schoenwx: 0:00

Welcome to today's episode. This episode was to be the last G in the three G's of knitting series. And surprise. This episode is not that one. I'll be sharing that last G in a future episode. instead. This week, it became apparent to me that you, dear listener, had a question or rather a problem that hopefully, I could direct towards a solution. I found this question repeatedly in my inbox over the last three, four weeks, and several times in just one day. I'm taking notice of that and giving a reply. So before tackling that, I'd like to share a bit about an old and a new project, some observations from each, so that you can perhaps see consider, even share thoughts that you are discovering with your knitting. Are you ready? Let's go. I'm Mel, a really curious yarn fan who loves knitting, and is also obsessed with encouraging you to feel the same. No matter where you are in your journey, whether you're an adventurous knitter, or one in the making, we've got more in common than you might expect. It wasn't so long ago, I was frustrated with too many cast ons, but never any completed projects, or endless piles of wavy yarn from ripped out knits. Fast forward to today. I've learned from languishing projects, and so called failed ones too! Every aspect of my life fuels my creativity, and my creativity adds to my enjoyment of life. I have created this podcast to share tips, mind shifts and challenges to help you do the same. So if you're a thoughtfully creative spirit, or someone wanting to grow in that direction, looking to love all the perfect nets you make and embrace the ones with feature design elements to you're in the right place, friend. Welcome to encourage better knitting podcast, your knitting Podcast. I'm always so excited to have this time together. So I'd like to give you a warm Aloha and welcome to today's episode, which is one I think you'll enjoy simply because it's one I've had communication with you and from you regarding! I do take time to read all of your emails. And some of you even send progress reports with photos on your knitting. And my friend, it brings me joy. And it offers a sense to me of where you are, and what you'd like to hear discussed here on the encouraged better knitting podcast. So I'd like for you to consider this an open invitation. I enjoy hearing from you as to interests that you may have for future episodes, any ideas that you think it would be worth exploring? I have endless prompts of my own. And think it would be wonderful to know what would be helpful to you to hear. And today's Today's episode is actually focused on that. Now, currently on my active needles is number one, a new cast on and number two, a sweater cast on several months ago. And I'd like to share a little about them and use them to illustrate what I hope will be of use to that question I received on multiple occasions in my inbox. So let's begin with this sweater. I've never used all of fosse so lopi or love fast solo love fast lopi All of us Lobi by lopi yarn before you can tell I've never used it because I don't even know how to pronounce it. But I do know how to describe it and I do know how to tell you my thoughts on it. It's 100% wool. It's a single ply Icelandic wool and it feels at once both silky and grippy. The 100 grams of this skein ball here in my hand measures 100 meters, or 109 yards. And my two color choices, well, they don't sound very inspiring when I read the yarn band, we've got color 1232 as well as color triple oh five. For those of you who have not yet memorized the codes to the colors for lopi 1232 is the loveliest Alaskan ice blue, water blue. And that cold color of a light blue is a bid heathered with some white an ever so tiny shimmers of ash tucked in there as well. I suppose it would be an Icelandic sea blue, and maybe we can let it just be both Alaskan and Icelandic cold waters. Now the second color is double triple O, O, triple o 50005. And it is a crisp, rich black. Not at all a blue black or purpley, black or brown, black but a true deep, like open your eyes in the dark and you can't see your hand in front of your face black. It too has the lightest flecks of gray and an even tiny little occurrences of a brown. And together these two colors are stunning. How lucky are we as nurse to be able to hold art and beauty in our hands and squeeze and sniff and play with tools that we will use to create something and have those tools be complete wonder and joy themselves. We are really so lucky to be knitters. And the awesome thing is anybody, just anybody with the desire can grab some yarn and some needles and be part of the knitting club. Now these yarns I'm telling you about were purchased specifically for a test knit that I signed up to do the pattern released months and months ago. So you may have surmised my sweater isn't finished. And now it's my fault for being short torsos and legged and armed I guess what I'm trying to convey is as a short queen, the sweater needed adjusting and adjusting and adjusting. And so it shouldn't be any surprise that I'm still here in the throes of adjustments. And I'd like to kind of give you a reason why. Nine times out of 10 I can cast on a sweater and make changes all day long without any trouble. I knit a lot of sweaters. I'm actually wearing a hand knit sweater right now. It's my two cups a sweater. I love this sweater. I love the yarn. And when I think of knitting, I am closing my eyes. What I see is balls and balls and skeins and skeins of yarn that I am gathering to cast on a sweater. I enjoy them the process the well obviously the end result of his finished sweater is something that makes me really excited. So 9.9 D eight times out of 10 I knit top down sweaters or pieces of sweaters that I seem and I love those constructions. I love taking small pieces of sweaters and putting them together you know seaming them up and and fashioning a fit For myself, I love the top down, adjusting, and either Raglan or yoke, I just love them. Now only point zero 2% of the time is bottom up. Now, this particular time is a bottom up, color work with sleeves to join. And the sleeves also have color work. So for those of you who don't knit sweaters, let me just explain the difference really quick. So here's a sidebar, top down, you start with the collar, if you're doing it in the round and one piece, not the same depart that I mentioned earlier, you start at the neckline, and your garment construction will begin to grow and grow and grow. And it makes this big circle with this cutout circle in the middle where your head pops through. We've seen those pictures before, it gets to a point where you set certain numbers of stitches aside, and those become the sleeves. And then you catch the remaining front part and the back part for the body. After you've set aside this leaves stitches, and you continue to knit in the round. So when it's time to try it on, you pop it over your head, you stick your arms through that opening area where you've satisfied stitches, and then the body is continuing to work down and you can kind of have an idea of, of how things are going along. When you're all done and you cast off the hem, you pop back up to the top and you pick up the sleeve stitches and knit the sleeves down the length of your arm to where you want them to end. No big deal. I'm assuming for those people who are listening that have knit sweaters on repeat both top down and bottom up, we're gonna say either way, now you know what's going on, I actually don't understand it quite as well going bottom up only because I'm not familiar with it. So this sweater has me in uncharted Ward waters. And I've opted not to pull out my pattern notes about the multiple adjustments, because I want to sit here with this on my lap and just give you a candid snapshot about what I remember about this sweater. Number one, I love this yarn. Number two, I love the way this sweater looks from the pattern. I loved it, you can see it yourself, you can click the link in the show notes. And you're going to be transported. Even as you listen to me talk, you can click on that. And you can see what the pattern is. And you can read a little bit more about what I've got so far. So that's number one and number two, and number three is I want to love this sweater on me. And in order to do that I had to recognize it's gonna take a little more time to reinvent the wheel. So here's what's become a sticking point, the arms and the sleeves are worked after the body has started. So the body has begun at the bottom hem. Like I mentioned, it works up in a tube to where the sleeves are going to join. So under the armpit somewhere, and then the sleeves are going to come up and join the armpits. And then they will continue to work and decrease after they've connected to the yoke. Now, through the sleeves though, as well as the sweater lower body. There are some color work color motifs that happen and those need to be established correctly. For the point where the sleeves and the sweater yoke unite and create the seamless lovely thing. Now my arms are just about three inches too short or low. Let's keep it positive. My arms are uniquely different from the patterns sleeve length, the dimensions. So there's a bit of a consideration to to work through and to effectively ie correctly nailed down. And what I mean by that is the motor motif that is on the arms is based on a certain number have stitches. And that certain number of stitches changes. As the length grows, I've cut out three inches of that. And so it has been a little bit of trial and error and more trials and more errors. Because as I've worked, the joining part has been off. And anyways, I think I've got it now, but it hasn't been without its challenges. And challenges are good, they totally keep me present and they keep me mindful and offer. They offer a space to grow right. I had ample areas to throw very grown up very dignified temper tantrums with this. With this adjustment, the pattern in and of itself is perfect, stunning, beautiful outcome. Just an issue for me with trying to make adjustments to the pattern. The pattern doesn't come with adjustments, and I'm tackling it on my own. Well, I've learned way more than three things from this sweater pattern. Why didn't I pull out my journal and just read them to you? And I think that the short answer is that when I'm going through it, and writing thoughts and frustrations, wins losses. All those things in the moment are big deals right? And given time and a bit of space. I get to be gentler and perhaps more objective and in brace a little forgivingly forgetfulness. And I guess that's not really the short answer, but it is the answer. Now, my pattern notes and journal entries do keep me locked in to numbers and changes. And these adjustments I'm going to need for sleeve number two. And for future knits by the same designer, I love all of her sweaters. And I'm fairly certain they are all constructed in this same method. So keeping a record of this one that I'm working on now will definitely be uber handy for me when I knit any in the future, but I'm content. And when I'm not, I can just take a break, because I'm in Alaska, and sweater weather is not going anywhere here. So I've got plenty of time. Now, the second needle example or the project share today is whoa, wait a second. Are you sitting down, I hope you're sitting now please, if you're driving, just take a deep breath, because what I'm about to share may surprise you. If you are multitasking, come back to me because you're gonna want to hear this. I'm knitting a pair of socks. Friend, I am doing two at a time. But I'm doing it the Melissa way in that and let me know if you do this too. So it'll give me a sense of belonging. I took the idea of knitting two at a time. And I cast on both socks. I cast on two separate socks on two separate sets of double pointed needles. And I have them in two separate project bags housed in one larger project bag with a label on each bag saying sock one and sock two. Sock one is the trailblazer in a is like the one that is going ahead and doing the thing. So for about an inch or so. Or until I get really itchy to do something different, which is my nature. I'll go for about an inch or so. And then I took it in and outcomes sock two and I knit there for a little a little bit. My plan is to be more effective with the changes that I make as I go so that the socks can be identical. As this is an actual sock pattern. It's not just a vanilla sock. It's an actual pattern. And they should or the hope is that they're going to match. Full disclosure here. I have a tendency when I do knit socks. I'm discovering that the reason the honest reason that I only Knit One is because I make adjustments and With sock knitting, I'm often knitting on the go. And unlike with sweater knitting, where I am meticulous about journaling, keeping notes on the actual pattern, keeping notes in my little notebook. I don't do that with socks, and so they are sometimes tighter or looser or something is a little bit different with them. And I'd like for these two to match. So the ones I get halfway through the knitting, the socks will be, in theory, they should be at the same point at the same time. And I'm kind of excited to see how that looks and feels. Now, Fred, can you guess why I paired these two projects together to share with you. I didn't notice a pattern or a lesson intentionally with this pairing. It just kind of happened accidentally. I set the bag, the big Omni booths project bag, holding sock one and sock two. inside of the bag, I took that bag, and I set it on top of this beautiful honey colored woven basket that I have. It was a huge basket. And that basket is currently holding my aforementioned sweater parts. And the yarns and my journal and the pattern. The socks the two at a time socks are the start of the two time socks. were lying on top of one sleeve, that one sleeve. And I thought do people knit sleeves two at a time. And by people? I mean, do you. If you are a sweater knitter bottom up and have to join sleeves to the body. Do you knit them at the same time as I was describing the socks? I've gotten no experience here. And so I genuinely would like to know can one put sleeves on a long cable needle and knit them like socks. Not Not that I'm knitting my socks that way. But and that's only because the last time I took I took a long needle, and I put two socks on that one needle to knit them at the same time. i The only way I did that successfully one time was I use two different socks from two different patterns, strikingly different yarns. And it was on a trip with my family actually to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we were staying in a stone cottage from the 1820s. I will definitely add that picture to the post that's linked in the show notes. That was such, oh, the whole experience was just magical. Except for the sock knitting. I originally started with one sock ball skein and it was pulling from the inside and from the outside. And it was just a mess. So yeah, I finished those socks about two and a half years ago, which was four years after we actually took that trip. But that's a side note. I'm sure that there are clever knitters who can do two socks at once on one long needle and they can be amazing. And those same magical knitters are probably the sock and the sleeve two at a time club, founding members. So I'm not asking to be allowed in that club. I would just like a member of that club to give me the curtain pulled back and here's how it work view. And I'd like that view not because I'm going to actually do it. But because I'm curious. well and truly curious. There are so many things knitting teaches us. So so many things. Trust me when I tell you that the number of things knitting has taught me through observation and not execution. The observation lessons greatly surpassed the things I've actually knit. How do I keep from getting burned out with my knitting? How do I find the best project to cast on What do I do to keep knitting exciting? These were three of the same questions that I got on the same day. And even though these questions seem a little bit varied, at the heart of it, I find that they're related, truly related very deeply. How do we know what to knit and make it the best experience for ourselves? Friends, you asked some questions. And so instead of answering questions by telling you what you should do, because I don't think that's the best way for me, to encourage you. And that's, that's the whole purpose of what I do. I'm here to be a friend. To you, fellow knitter. I take this very seriously, I love being able to encourage you, not to boss you around, but to well and truly kind of removed the scales from your eyes to take your glasses and kind of polish them up and let you see your knitting through fresh lenses. And to see the beautiful, beautiful way that you are wired up to be creative. Like I see how creative you are. So I'm going to share very quickly three E's and one C, that I find myself using consistently in my knitting. And my hope is, you can hear these and pick one and leave the others aside or incorporate all three in kind of like a self talk discussion that you can have with yourself or have with me getting the comments on the blog. Get in my inbox, having an opportunity to reflect with fresh eyes. Just that's my goal to share with you. So the three E's and one see, explore, experiment, engage, celebrate. I'm gonna say that again. explore, experiment, engage, celebrate. Now, explore. Our knitting is a hobby, an outlet, a practice to bring joy and peace and wonder if it is or isn't giving those vibes. explore some options. Maybe, can I mix things up? If yes, hurray. If I don't want to mix things up. Why? Why is that? Is it because I'm happy and content where I am? Well, that's great, Mel, can I be happy and content and still feel good looking at all the things left? I have yet to try. In my knitting. When I explore, I will grab an old book or a magazine. And I'll read an a knitting related article. I read about people in knitting or areas of knitting culture and history, origin stories. I love reading. And maybe you do too. Maybe like videos, there is a world full of knitters from the past that have left a legacy of things that they've learned and that is charted waters that I definitely want to explore. Now, experiment, I do some things really well in knitting. Sleep knitting is one actually. I go on autopilot as I fall asleep and my family laughs and is kind of amazed that my eyes close. I'm completely checked out. But my hands, my hands just keep on knitting. They just, they're on autopilot. The Knitting happens, and I am not conscious of it. Now, my friends, this unfortunately, happens more often than I'd like when I'm awake to. I am glad of it a lot of the times. I really truly am. But am I auto piloting too much? Is the program running the knitting and I'm missing out. I mean, let me explain this in a better way, I guess. Imagine the pilot of a thirteen hour flight, clicking the autopilot button and grabbing a book to read as he flies on, you know, there is off around him out the window is the incredible landscapes and seascapes, just just the stunning skies by day are the stars at night. And yet the computer the computers got this flight, and the auto and the actual pilot, he can just veg. Now, truly, I have no idea what it's like to be an actual pilot, and actually using real autopilot. So bear in mind that this is just my imagination at work. But to keep me on my toes, and aware of what is above me and below me and beside me and in front of me and behind me. I need to be checked in. I need that, that moment where my imagination is, is engaged, my mind is set up to keep me on my toes. And so something like that sweater pattern that I was describing from the 0.02% that I usually don't you do, I need something like that to wake me and shake me and pull me into experimenting with my stitches. I need a tiny pair of baby booties in a decadent yarn, or a hot water bottle with 37 Different colors all charted, to get me exploring a few new skills and some new techniques. So Third E is engage. When I tell you I love knitters, you can believe that I need fellow knitters. I need to hear their stories and hear their wisdom, hear their encouragement, their insight. And I need that as much as I need yarn and needles and a pattern. Fellow knitters understand what goes into neat knit, kneading, they understand what goes into knitting, the creation of the knit. They get that monumental task of just picking the pattern. And then Oh my word the next task, choosing the yarn. They feel me when the cable snaps. And my stitches, unbeknownst to me have fallen off. And I've got no spare no local yarn shop and no drone able to drop needles off to me at one o'clock in the morning. Fellow knitters feel that they comment. They respond. They correct, they rejoice. They do all of these things throughout the stitches and the rows from caste on to bind off the knowledge there are others with needles in their hands. Just the just the understanding that there are other knitters out there with a spirit akin to mine that I can engage with. friend to me that is gold. Now, even as an introvert, functioning as an extrovert, a person like me, looks for connection points, maybe not all day every day, but having a space and opportunity to engage. If I want my friend, I need that. And I need to offer that to for real. So I do this podcast and the blog. I offer activities to join in for those on my email list. Actually. They just recently got invited to a weekend retreat. And that is something that you are always welcome to be a part of. And it's, it's fine for me to pop in weekly and say hello, and share a free pattern or an invitation to a workshop or like I said the virtual retreat that I just recently shared. I get an opportunity to to step in and serve those people who want to engage. And I look forward to doing that. Because others have shared that with me. So whatever engagement looks like for you, embrace and uplift others and yourself as you engage in community. And lastly, I want to share, we have c, celebrate. I couldn't think of an E word that meant celebrate. So I know you're probably shouting it at me right now you're like, yeah, so it could have been four E's instead of threes and a C. So please dump all the synonyms into the comments on the blog post linked in the show notes, because I'm already dying to see the obvious ones that I missed. But let's talk about celebrate. Yeah, when I finish, when I cast off a project, I celebrate. Now I do. But it has not always been like that. Once upon a time, I'd have my shawl soaking and prepping to block. And I'd have already cast on the next thing before the shawl fully soaked in the water and sunk into the water a bit. I didn't pause. I didn't take time to recognize and delight in the beauty of what I had made. How could I there was the next project that I had to get knitting. I was a machine or so I thought and actually not a knitting machine. And a coconut taught me that lesson and stopped me in my tracks. And that's a story for another day. But a lesson. For today. I relearned to knit a knit stitch. And I still remember my husband and my kids watching me wrestle with a knitting needle tucked into the bend of my knee. And me navigating the how tos of knitting. That way. They literally clapped and jumped and cheered, celebrated each attempt and success or failure stitch on or the stitch falling off. And it was awesome. And I want to encourage you to implore you to, to plead with you to celebrate your stitches, celebrate your work, you deserve it. You are creating something, have time, build in time, leave space for time to recognize and admire and ultimately allow your knitting that you just did inspire you. And I think these three E's and the one C explore experiment and gauge celebrate, are the things that I can say are keys to what has number one helped me in burnout and from burnout. Number two, help me discover the best cast on and cast off. And number three, helped me keep knitting exciting. What about you friend, I'd love to hear what you do in your knitting. So leave your thoughts in the post linked in the show notes. And before we go, today was not a green check day I'm sorry to say I rolled the dice and I got the null set sign. But I do want to take just a moment and share some guidelines or best practices for the yarn bundles that I love giving away. Now this giveaway is open to every one that leaves a five star written review. Currently, we're just doing it on Apple podcast audible and like pod chaser. But if you are leaving a written review somewhere else, please email me right away and let me know so that you can be entered. Now, if you can't leave a five star review, you can still do something and participate. I welcome your feedback. Pick one way that you suggest that I improve to earn your five star rating. And I'm always available by email, you can look in the show notes, and you will find me and how to reach me there. And I'd love to hear what you've got to say. Now, the last little bit of housekeeping, your prize will be held for you for 14 days after the show airs. So it must be claimed within that timeframe. Simply email me and I'll send it your way. The comments that you leave the emails that you send the feedback that you share, it helps me be a better chatter to you. And hopefully, provide some things that when I share encourages you and uplifts you, or at least gives you a chance to pause and think I appreciate the time that you give me here with you on this podcast. And I do hope that together we're encouraging better knitting one stitch at a time. Now, whatever you are doing, whatever you are making, whether it's magnificent, and incredible, or mistake laden and lessons learned, you are valuable to our knitting community. Doesn't matter what you make or how you make it. You are valuable. And I hope that the sun is shining on you where ever you find yourself today and know that I'm over here cheering you on, and looking forward to our next time together. So until then, dear knitter aloha and take care