One of my favorite things about being a knitter is looking at all the knitwear out there. I have an understanding and passion for it. Everywhere I look, I can now say, "Oh, I know what had to be done to make that."
It makes me think that some things are particularly impressive. Or when I picked up a Fair Isle hat in Barney's the other day, and noticed all the ends that had barely even been tied in, I had myself a little chuckle at the lack of high-end finishing on a hat that was being sold for over $100. Then again, that's a lot less than it would have cost me to make it.
That's the tough part about knitting... you can spend more on yarn than you can on a lot of storebought sweaters, and then once you factor in the hours of labor spent on something, well, you realize that hand knitting is a labor of love, and something that is done out of passion, and it makes you get back to work on your Christmas present projects with the hope that the recipient will actually realize how much time was spent crossing all those cables and flipping yarn from front to back as you ribbed across all those stitches. And even though you know they have no idea how many hours you spent on the sweater, hell, you probably don't even remember yourself, it probably won't even fit right.
But it's fun, it's relaxing, and it's just such a wonderful thing to do that I hope I don't ever feel compelled to stop.
Posted by Jon at November 30, 2004 04:46 AMAmen, brother! Reminds me of the sweater I saw in Anthropologie that I just loved...and I KNOW that aside from the time factor it would cost a lot less to make. But now I can't remember what it looked like. This is why I need to carry a camera with me everywhere.
Oh, and about learning to crochet...I could help you there, or at least try. I also highly recommend, if you don't have it yet, Nancy Wiseman's Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques. It's got a whole section on crochet finishes. I haven't looked at it yet, but her directions for other things are great.
Posted by: Em at November 30, 2004 08:39 AMNo way would anyone pay near what a hand knit sweater was really worth - if you figure the cost of yarn and a decent hourly rate for the knitter - it would cost a fortune!!
It is however, a cost effective hobby if one knits slowly (at least that's what I tell my extremely slow knitting self). Figure the cost of good quality yarn for a sweater. Divide it by the number of hours you spend working on it and you have a very economical hobby! Makes me feel better anyway.....
Posted by: diane at November 30, 2004 09:32 AMI agree wholeheartedly. If you consider the cost of therapy, knitting is *very* cheap. :)
Posted by: Erika at November 30, 2004 08:37 PM