problem

My fellow knitters, we have a problem.

No, it's not stashing. Despite what you may think, our collecting mass amounts of yarn then storing them in our houses is not what is wrong. In fact, it's downright understandable. My grandfather, who does woodworking, has a sideroom in his garage filled with various tools and an assortment of wood pieces. In our garage sits a shelf filled with various pots, fertilizer, and gardening tools my mother uses. So then I ask, is it not reasonable that I, a knitter, keep all my various tools in one place?

Stashing is not the problem.

It's not a problem with our choice of projects, either. I may not have any use for a knitted dog costume, but that doesn't mean it's worthless. Somewhere, some knitter is working on a knitted dog costume, because they think their little Fido will look adorable in it. If it can be knit, someone is knitting it. Don't believe me? Read this post.

Before you ask, it's the same with yarn. Every yarn, from the most expensive alpacca to the cheepest acrylic, has a purpose. Acrylic is afordable for anyone, knits up well, and is machine washable. It also makes for great Warm Up America squares. On the other hand, when given the choice and the funds, I love making items of good quality yarn as well.

So no, our projects and the yarn we use for them is not the problem.

Our problem is not even how much we knit. Knitting is fun, it's enjoyable, else we wouldn't do it. We would have long retired our needles and gone to Walmart for socks. And yes, even after I've ripped out half the work which took me hours to do because I notice a mistake 10 rows back, I still enjoy it. There's just something about giving away an item you've made with your own hands that can't be beat.

So then, what's the problem?

Our challenge, my fellow craft-a-holics, comes at holidays or birthdays. It happens when one of your non-knitting family members or friends goes absolutely bonkers for that furry scarf you made, even though it took only two hours and little skill to knit it, and even though they are holding a pair of handknit socks or a lace scarf, something that took twenty hours and tremendous skill to knit, in their hands.

It always seems like that, doesn't it? Lace shawl, a polite thank you and appreciation, novelty yarn scarf, the crowd goes wild.

They just don't get it.