Knitter Darcy

Pride and Prejudice and Knitting

If you are a returning reader, you have probably noticed that I enjoy literature.  I doubt it will come as any surprise that I adore Jane Austen’s works.

While deciding which is my favorite, I could make valid arguments for Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park, and Sense and Sensibility (my apologies, Northanger Abbey), but I have to place Pride and Prejudice at the top of my ranked Austen list. 

I have read the book multiple times, and the BBC’s 1995 tv series version of Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth has been my friend these many years.  Despite its being five hours long, I have watched the entire series uncountable times, generally while knitting!  (I wish I had a list of all of the projects I knit while watching this one show.)

Recently, the Keira Knightley movie version of P&P popped back onto Netflix.  In an effort to Knitflix one night while I persevered on my beaded lace Naomh shawl, I turned it on.  I can appreciate what the more recent movie’s interpretation brings to the table, though it feels a bit less authentic to me.  Regardless, it put me in mind of the concepts of both pride and prejudice as they relate to knitting.

(Just as all drains lead to the ocean and all roads lead to Rome… all ideas lead to knitting.  At least in my mind!)

This particular connection is most likely because I have been so focused on finishing the Naomh shawl.

I will be honest with you, my friend. I am exceedingly proud of my newly-finished shawl.

Lace weight hand dyed singles merino yarn, 672 tiny beads, luscious lace, 200 charted rows…

It is—if I may be so bold—gorgeous!

(If you disagree, that’s totally valid.  Please don’t tell me, though.)

My favorite step in the lace knitting process is the last one—when I wet block the project.  The water works as a magical healing tonic.  The difference in the fabric’s appearance, comparing before and after blocking, is intense.  (If anyone would like info on blocking, let me know!!!)

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Unfortunately, I have a nagging curiosity about how much pride I should be feeling.

Haven’t we all heard the admonishment, “Pride goes before a fall,” as well as stories of eating Humble Pie?

But anyone who has knit challenging projects knows about being proud of their knitting!  Am I right?  To be clear, these projects don’t have to be considered Expert Level by the whole world, they just have to challenge the knitter in some way.

Let’s take a moment to listen to Mr. Darcy….

So what can we take away from this for our knitting?  Be proud of your superior finished projects, though don’t flaunt them?  I guess I’ll just have to hope that people I meet on the street ask me if I knit my [enter project name here]. 

I wonder if Mr. Darcy would consider it “vanity” to wear a pin or t-shirt that says, “Yes, I knit this.  Yes, you can tell me how amazing I am.”

If I donned such a statement piece, perhaps Miss Elizabeth would say to me…

Yes, Mr. Darcy, but instead of “good principles” let’s say “advanced techniques”!

I expect I will continue to struggle internally between extreme pride in the challenging work I create, while also attempting to keep my pride—and vanity—in check.  I am a mere mortal, but I will aim for authentic humility.

But… let it be known far and wide that:

I finished a lace shawl, y’all!!! 😉

Beyond the issue of pride, can we briefly consider prejudice in knitting?

Don’t stop to think, just answer:  Are there any knitting patterns, yarns, or knitting techniques that you dislike… hate… refuse ever to knit (again)?

If you have knit more than three projects, I would guess your answer would be a resounding, “Yes!”

There’s the shawl that only looks like a thong to you.  Or the yarn that is so fuzzy and hard to manage that you trashed—rather than stashed—the remaining skeins.  Or that supposedly “stretchy” cast on you finally tried on a sock that now won’t fit over your heel.

But how deeply should we lean into our knitting prejudices?  Maybe the best way to deal with these issues is like dealing with a naughty child.  Rather than getting angry and yelling, perhaps we should acknowledge our frustration and resulting prejudice, and then, simply, move on.

Truth be told, I don’t like to burn yarn-bombed bridges—I find that I sometimes return to these patterns and techniques that I swore off years before.

We’re human.  And I believe we are offered grace that allows us a way back from all knitting vanity and prejudice.

Here are a few parting thoughts from my ramble through this esoteric Regency garden.  I invite you to answer these for yourself.

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I can’t tell you how to answer these questions, but I can offer you a few patterns to knit while you mull them over. Check out Mountain Song Designs on….

To see a better picture of my Naomh shawl in the next week, and for additional content and inspiration, check out Mountain Song Designs on…

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