Soaring on the Wings of Anticipation

And how to avoid the Thud

Hi friends,

We’re back with another Anne of Green Gables reference.  (Sorry, not sorry.  Anne became my friend when I was young.)

I have spent the last few weeks riding the air currents of inspiration—in a variety of areas of my life, including knitting.  But the problem with inspiration, I sometimes find, is the follow-through.

A flurry of designs have been swirling around my brain recently.  What a glorious feeling!

Unfortunately, I then have to begin choosing The Right Yarn, figuring out schedules, and generally managing the minutiae of pattern design.  While I wouldn’t necessarily call this a thud, it’s definitely not “soaring on inspiration.”

So many experiences start with the anticipatory excitement, and they often end with the elation of success in summiting the proverbial mountain.  (Or maybe literal mountain, depending on your goals!)

The issue lies between the initial rose-tinted decision (next knit to cast-on, next book to read, next book to write, next trail to hike, etc.) and the completion of the venture.  In the middle, many little, grayish, often monotonous steps (or stitches or words) must be done.  You may feel like you are thudding along, but the True Thud resounds only when you give up entirely on your intentions.

Many of my long-term WIPs fall victim to this Middling Phase.  I get to the “hard part” (even if it isn’t really hard—maybe tedious, or attention-consuming), and the project loses its cast-on luster.

Do you ever experience this?  Maybe with your knitting, or a trip you’ve been planning, or even a diet you’ve just started….  You are so excited at the outset, but then the Middling Phase ensues, and that project becomes more of a slog than an adventure.

I’m not saying that thudding out is inherently bad.  You just feel better if you can avoid it!

So if you are, like me, in the Middling Phase of a project (or two or ten), I encourage you to persist.  Remember that traversing the difficult middle is much better than feeling a reverberating Thud.

Fortunately for you lovely knitters, my recent “soaring” through the winds of inspiration will—eventually—lead to some new patterns that have me enamored.

In the meantime, check out my available patterns on Etsy and Ravelry.

Slàinte mhath, and happy knitting.