On Social Knitworking* and Turning to the Dark Side

(* © David Brooks 2008)


I have a confession. I am an addict. I don’t think a day has gone by when I haven’t had at least one fix. Ravelry has taken over my life and is now starting to affect me in ways others are finding disturbing.

I have become obsessed with pattern searching and seeing what my friends are up to (whether it’s stashing yarn, queuing patterns, or uploading their project progress). The sheer number of free patterns is amazing, and the fact you can see all the patterns from published books before you buy means I will never buy a dud crafty book again. Amazon’s ‘Search Inside’ is rarely available for this sort of thing and, even if it is, often doesn’t show you all the designs. So, I’ve been caught on many occasions when a lovely cardie on the front cover hides a multitude of tack on the inside…

Amongst all this I have slowly come to the realisation that I am going to have to learn to knit. Yes. I said it. Out loud and in public. The hardened crocheter is finally giving in to the dark side.

I tried it first on Monday night and immediately threw it away again in disgust as I was shocked to find I wasn’t instantly brilliant at it. I could see it was going to be a hard slog getting used to being rubbish at something again. Still, I persevered and even took it to Stitches and Hos last night, where friends were shocked to see me sans hook. It was strange. It felt completely alien. I was used to being the one person doing something different at S&H and now I was doing what everybody else was. Suddenly I felt like I was jumping on the bandwagon, completely unoriginal, and I didn’t like it.

Still, I’m sticking with it. I finished my first ‘object’ last night which was strangely satisfying. Watch this space for evidence…



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Fame at Last!

Well after 31 years I have finally found fame in the pages of the Birmingham Post. A reporter recently attended the monthly Stitches and Hos night at the Hare and Hounds and I got interviewed as the "Rebel Crocheter". Well the article has now appeared and not only am I famous, but I've been given a promotion! Now if only I could get one in real life...

Wardrobe Refashion Update

I've just realised that I've broken the back of my 6 month Wardrobe Refashion Challenge pledge. As of today I am 89 days in with 65 left to go and I haven't bought any new clothes in that time.

In fact, I'm beginning to wonder whether I'll ever go back to my previous shopping habits. Whilst my posting on the site has been sporadic and lacking in recent months (I'm blaming my broken camera lead) I've not been idle in terms of making/acquiring new items.

I've got seriously into my crochet, which is helped a *lot* by the monthly Stitches and Hos evening at the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath. It was my second visit to the group last night and, after a short attempt at some knitting during a short crochet break I decided I might actually give it a go for a proper project (especially after I got free needles from the group!) .

Sewing has also increased dramatically, although I've got a few UFOs (unfinished objects) waiting around to be sorted. These are mostly items from charity shops that I've bought with a mind to revamp in some way.

This gets me on to my main point. I used to shop in charity shops a lot as a student for quirky or kitsch items but it's dropped off in recent years. Since doing the WRC though I've got a renewed excitement about them and realised most of my wardrobe staples can be sourced here. I've had a few really good hauls of clothes that I can wear as-is without fixing up and I have less guilt about sweat-shop brands like Primark if they are already "pre-loved". Plus it's ace for my bank balance! I don't think I'm ever going to shop normally again...