how to's: finding time to knit
Domiknitrix, how do you find the time?
Yes, I do have a full-time job, and it's not one where I can sit and knit all day long. Far from it.
But, there are a few things that I am NOT doing that give me more time for knitting:
- going to the gym - I save transit time and membership fees by walking to work. Just don't stop exercising or your sleeveless tops will go to waste.
- other crafts - I would rather truly excel at one thing than be mediocre at many. So I knit and design knitwear, and I sew and design clothes, and that's plenty.
And some things I AM doing:
- ordering take out and food delivery when the Muse is in town - be sure to file lots of menus and rotate
- avoiding projects I know will bog me down - if I'm annoyed knitting the swatch, that's a sign I won't have much fun with the project.
- allowing myself to enjoy 'lost' knitting weekends - When asked, say anything but "I knitted all weekend." Try instead: "I created this amazing ..."
And there are some things I do during the knitting that enable me to finish more quickly, with a more flawless result:
- I knit continental style, for higher top speeds.
- I knit tubes on circular needles whenever I can to save time turning the work and purling.
- I avoid yarns finer than DK weight. Worsted or bulky are preferred for faster completed results.
- When working cables, I dispense with the cable needle. I find it only wastes time and does not add to the result, unless I am working in a very slippery yarn.
- I knit a lot of sleeveless or short-sleeved projects. This cuts the knitting time by 1/3 or more.
- I knit for myself to save time. This way, I always have easy access to my fit model. I hate to wait to fit it on the intended recipient.