If Lady Fortuna Could Knit
I forecast a 100% chance of knitting today
Just the other day, I finished listening to the audiobook of The Cloisters by Katy Hays.
It was a bit out of my readerly comfort zone—I don’t gravitate toward Suspense often. Regardless, I genuinely enjoyed the book!
The story revolves around a variety of characters who work at The Met Cloisters, a medieval museum department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Based on the book’s descriptions, I would expect to relish wandering through the open spaces and nooks of the ancient building and grounds. One of the story’s main topics is tarot cards—their history, related scholarship, and varying beliefs about them.
I enjoyed the read. But it got me to thinking…
We crafters need our own The Knitter card!
And just imagine if we could have a crafter’s set to help us make big decisions—which WIP to work on; which of our twenty-two favorite crafts to pursue that day; which of our thirty stashed sweater quantities to cast on next!
After a quick Google search, it would seem that a few other people have thought of this as well. I found two tarot sets—one simply a knitting-related standard set, plus one called the Knitters Oracle. Both look fun!
For the record, I’m not someone who places much stock in tarot, but I’m not mad at it. If you find a device to help you focus your day and live your best life, y’all do you!
Despite the decks available, I feel like there’s a further way to simplify and minimize the plethora of decisions a knitter faces daily.
I’ll admit that working to whittle down my number of WIPs has helped me tremendously in the decision making department. (Thank you, Dave Ramsey!)
Still, those times arrive when you have to decide…
I know people employ a variety of strategies for choosing their next project—from numbering stash then drawing numbers from a random number generator, to going by what needles are free, to deadlines (baby showers, competitions, test knits, etc.), to listening simply to what feels right (or fun!).
But sometimes—and I can attest to this—no specific projects are preening in the wings, like stage moms desperate for you to notice their adorable, talented kids. When I don’t have a vanilla(ish) on-the-go project on the needles, sometimes I struggle to decide what I want to cast on next.
Do you ever struggle with this?
I hate that feeling—it almost feels like apathy. Yuck!
But! If I had a stack of cards that featured patterns from my library (or imagination) plus yarns I have in my stash, the deck could do all of the deciding for me!
That does sound like a lot of prep work, though, doesn’t it? I guess I’ll go on dreaming of my own personal knitting tarot deck while I continue digging to find My Next Right Knit.
In the meantime, if you want some knitting inspiration, check out my designs at…
If you want to hear my deeper book talk about The Cloisters (among many other things…) check out my latest YouTube episode (Ep. 11 — Knitting Is Definitely in the Cards).
For links to Mountain Song Designs around the web…
And, until next time…
