Let me introduce you to "The Ladies." The Ladies (as we are referred to by significant others and roommates) are the small group of friends and fellow knitters with whom I knit regularly. Weekly we assemble at someone's apartment and spend a few hours eating mostly unhealthy food (pizza, Chinese and Mexican are staples), watching movies or TV requiring the least amount of brain power (conducive to multi-tasking), catching up on the latest news and... knitting (more or less). I'd like to say that these are the most productive of knitting nights but, as anyone who knits with friends knows, we're lucky if we make noticeable progress. We are nonetheless inspired for the rest of the week. The funniest thing about our little coterie is that we cover the spectrum in knitting personalities. Knitters pursue this craft from so many angles and for reasons just as varied. The Ladies are no exception and, in the interest of confidentiality, we'll call them Madame Poncho, Lady Socks, Miss Wingit, Dame Scarf, and Ms. Multi-task.
I've been knitting with Madame Poncho for a few years and, like so many of us, Madame Poncho often goes a few weeks with only picking up the needles during our weekly session. As such, I'm impressed by her ability to remember where she is in a pattern or what the heck she did last, particularly because she doesn't appear to have any notes. Madame Poncho, named for her long desire to knit a poncho (now realized), is a seasoned but sometimes hesitant knitter who has much more skill than she gives herself credit for. She's zipping along on her poncho (which I'm happy to say is for herself) and is, I think, ready for something more challenging.
Relatively new to our group, Lady Socks is an über knitter. I swear she churns out at least a couple projects each week between our meetings. She's definitely the best knitter among us, with a wealth of knowledge to share. Her prolific knitting alone is an inspiration to all. Lady Socks is also a consummate baker. We're mostly trying to watch our waistlines, but then the brownies with dulce de leche show up. Or cookies. Or some other dessert-which-must-not-be-named. Perhaps a trick to foil the attack of the über-knitter-baker would be to institute requirements such as "you may not eat a cookie until you have knit 10 rows."
Our fairweather knitter, Dame Scarf, is inconstant but surprisingly skilled. Although she's currently working on a practice scarf, projects stowed away to be finished when her skills are back up to snuff show creativity and talent. Dame scarf underestimates her skills and her lack of confidence doesn't do her justice. We should encourage all the Dames out there to be persistent in reclaiming their knit!
Miss Wingit is the most courageous of the group. Rarely does she use a pattern, finding inspiration in the yarn, which has most likely been given to her. She'll knit up just about anything and is always gift knitting. In fact, I don't think I've seen her knit something for herself. She's a speedy knitter, which is a good thing, because all this no-pattern cra
ziness often requires frequent frogging. Miss Wingit could probably win some sort of knitting prize for perfection. Years ago, Madame Poncho, Miss Wingit and I cooperatively knit up Debbie Bliss's Teddy Bear All-in-One for a friend, each taking a different section. Miss Wingit's portion was perfect. We mere mortals need to block our knitting, but somehow, Miss Wingit does not.
Ms. Multi-task has way too many projects going at once and even more in the queue. Though generally finishing all the little projects that get started, the big ones often fall into limbo once they get close to completion. Without the time to knit as much as she'd like, Ms. Multi-task can't keep up with her ideas and enthusiasm for new projects and yarn. Like with books, she doesn't mind scrapping something that isn't fun. She knits because she enjoys it, not just for the finished product (a good thing, considering her history).
So, what kind of knitter are you?
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