Picture by Belynda Wilson Thomas
You can be cautious or you can be creative, but there’s no such thing as a cautious creative. George Lois
Yesterday, I finished knitting a blanket for my daughter-in-law’s sister’s baby. When choosing the yarn, I had a few I liked and got my daughter-in-law’s opinion on what her sister would like, and she chose a lovely grey, pink, and white stripe. I went to the store to purchase the yarn and it was gone. At a different store, there was a grey, pink, and white stripe that was very similar. I got right to my knitting and soon the pile of knitting on my lap was getting quite large. I realized sixty stitches would be quite a bit bigger than the forty-inch quilt I was planning, so I made another trip to the store for yarn. I’d almost given up when I found one last ball tucked away. I was also looking for a solid pink to crochet around the edges but none was to be found.
As I neared the end of my knitting I found to my horror the stripes were not looking like I wanted them to. They did in the beginning couple of rows, and I kept on knitting until I held it up to show my husband and he pointed out the uneven stripes. At this point, I was too far into the project to quit and the only solution to get stripes how you want them is to knit from solid yarn and start and end the color yourself. I know this now but didn’t do any research before starting with striped yarn, and I know hope is not a plan, but the yarn was pretty, and I didn’t think beyond that.
I’ve never knitted with striped yarn before and now I’m reading on Google this is a common complaint and when I mentioned it to Mom she was aware of the shortcomings of striped yarn. On Saturday, I went to another store to see if I could find a pink yarn for the crocheted edge and voila, there it was the right color, the right weight, the same manufacturer, and the exact pink of the stripe. Gleefully I made my purchase and got 40% off. I almost clicked my heels on the way out of the store.
There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity there would be no progress and we would be forever repeating the same patterns. Edward De Bono
When I finished knitting I spread the blanket on the table and wondered if with wonky stripes it was good enough to give as a gift, but determined to finish it, I started crocheting the edge. The edge is the part of the blanket I am happiest with. On a blanket, I knit for my grandson the crocheted edge is pretty but not sturdy, so I looked online for an edge that would stand up. I found an easy scalloped crochet edge and did three rounds which gave it a nice border. Looking at the finished wonky striped baby blanket I shrugged as I folded it up, put it in the bag, wrote the card, and handed it to my daughter-in-law to give to her sister.
The thought crossed my mind, why didn’t I just pick up something for the baby instead of making something? Maybe part of the charm of that blanket will be its wonkiness, maybe sometimes perfectly imperfect is what we can do. It’s finished, it’s on its way to its new home, and I’ve learned a few lessons for the next one.
At Mom’s, one of the reasons she has so much yarn is she has been the repository of the knitting that never got finished. Projects were started and then for whatever reason given up on, and they ended up at her house. Some batches of yarn were not started but must have been purchased for a reason, then someone got too busy, found yarn they liked better, or gave up the idea of creating something altogether.
We never know when we start a project what the finished project will look like. At least I don’t, that is part of the appeal, and we have to manage our expectations. Sometimes when we start a project we realize we should have thought about it a little more, and done a bit more research, but sometimes we can spend so much time doing the research we never get around to doing the project.
When do we meet the fine balance of crippling our creativity trying for perfection, or being sloppy in our workmanship? It might be possible to create a baby blanket I’m really happy with, but I might run out of babies to give them to first.
It takes courage to put our creativity out there, and if we are courageous enough to put our creativity out there who knows where it might go, or who we might inspire. Is there any more creative act we will ever do, than the art of creating ourselves?
You use a glass mirror to see your face. You use works of art to see your soul. George Bernard Shaw
Everyone has a creative impulse, and has the right to create, and should. Patti Smith
Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen. Robert Bresson
Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more, and have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.
