A Knitter’s Guide to Falling In Love With Slow Progress
There’s no denying the fact that knitting takes time.
It only takes a little bit of experience to realize that any thoughts of whipping out a big fancy sweater over a couple of days belong in fantasy novels, not on weekend to do lists. Quick knits exist, but “quick” is relative. It’s rare to find projects that take less than several hours, and many projects will span weeks or months.
One of my favorite projects, pictured below, took almost three years.
This is Kay Gardiner’s Mitered Crosses Blanket (Ravelry link), made to drape over a queen size bed. (I really need to retake photos of this blanket!) I love it, but it took forever!
Knitters and other fiber artists take great satisfaction and pleasure in their finished projects, but in a world where attention spans are shrinking, “free” time feels like a lost concept, and we can find entertainment from other sources shooting out every 21 to 34 seconds, it’s countercultural to choose to participate in something slow, time consuming, and often monotonous.
Others have done the scientific research to prove the legitimacy behind the claims of the benefits of knitting and crocheting and similar crafts on our mental and physical health. There’s no doubt that it’s good for us. So how do we learn to love slow progress when most things around us tell us that faster (or instant!) is better?
1. Recognize You are In The business of Transformation
Take a look at the materials you are going to use.
Hold your yarn in your hands and give some thought to what it is. It may be fiber from an animal you care for, or from one in another country, or some unknown beast you couldn’t identify if your life depended on it. It could be yarn made from some synthetic unpronounceable material. It could be a combination of the above. It could be a complete mystery of composition, but it’s yours, and it’s pretty.
You know what else it is? It’s string.
And the other tools? Those needles? Whether they’re plastic, metal, or wood, your great aunt’s ancient collection or the hand carved beauties you discovered at the fiber festival? They’re sticks.
You are about to take string and make it into something else. With sticks. That’s wonderful!
There are t-shirts, stickers, mugs, and all sorts of merchandise out there that say “Knitting is my superpower. What’s yours?” There’s some truth there.
Embrace the idea that transformation is a Big Deal. As such, it is worth the resource of your time. As time on your project stretches out, remind yourself that you are in the business of transformation. You are making string into something other.
2. Take a Lot of Pictures
We love progress pictures.
Think of all the time-lapse photos and videos you’ve watched over the years of all sorts of different projects: baby and kid growth, demolition projects, construction projects, home improvement projects, and garden and plant installation and growth projects. I’ve caught myself mesmerized by time-lapse photos and videos of people cleaning their house or even cleaning horrendously filthy carpets! We’re fascinated by seeing processes and progress.
When I do commission work that will take more than a few days, I send regular progress pictures. Part of it is to assure my client that their commission is getting my attention, but part of it is to give them the pleasure of seeing the piece or pieces come together.
Before you cast on, take a picture of your materials. Take another picture right after you cast on. Some people like to take a picture at the end of every day they’ve worked on a piece. Some like to take one every week, or every few days, or at every significant point in the pattern.
Make a point to look at your pictures throughout your project. It’s encouraging to see that you are actually making progress, no matter how slow it may be.
When I made the blanket pictured above, I took pictures of the growing stacks of squares and every once in a while I’d count them and record the number I had finished, along with the date. Slow progress is still progress!
3. Consider Your Project A Temporary Life Companion
You and your project may be “together” during some significant life events. Many knitters can point to individual projects and identify what was happening in their lives as they were making the items. “That’s the blanket I made when I was pregnant with my first.” “That’s the shawl I made when Mom had surgery and I stayed with her for a month.” “That’s the blanket I made the year after we moved.” “That’s the sweater I made after Dad died.”
Not every item has such significant stories, but all of them accompany a portion of our lives. We can choose to pay attention to even the less significant life events as we make slow progress on a project. We can be mindful of the portion of time marked by the span of the project and curate those memories and experiences.
Doing so infuses those projects with even more significance than if we simply construct them mindlessly. This may be a new challenge for some knitters, this kind of reflective, autobiographical, mindful knitting, but I encourage you to try it. I think you’ll find it enhances your enjoyment in what you knit, especially if the item stays near you. When you use it or see it, you’ll have further opportunities to remember and reflect on that period of your life. Even if that period is a hard one, you have a tangible reminder that you not only endured it, but you created during it.
4. Remember the Benefits
Many of us are familiar enough with health journeys to recognize the phrase “remember your why.” It’s meant to encourage us to keep not only our goals at the forefront of our minds, but our motivation. It’s not enough, psychologically speaking, to say “My goal is to lose 20 pounds.” It’s much more effective to also say “so that I can stay active into old age” or “so I can see my grandchildren grow up.”
We can use the same strategy to help us love slow progress. “My goal is to learn to love slow progress so…”
So, what kinds of things happen within us when we invest in slow progress?
We develop patience. Is there anyone on Earth who doesn’t need to strengthen their patience muscle? We develop perseverance. Again, who doesn’t need a little more of that? Honestly, just these two are enough for me to think that knitting maybe ought to be a required primary school subject.
I see this in technicolor in my Beast to Blanket classes with children. So often, students travel the path of instant frustration, to gritty character-building work, to pride and another step toward maturity. It’s completely predictable. It’s hard, it’s messy, it’s sometimes tearful and angry, but it’s astounding in the results.
Adults are better at masking the tearful and angry. We usually feel boredom and annoyance. Pushing through those feelings to continue the slow progress is similar work as my young students do when they persevere through angry tears. And regardless of whether or not there is a next knitting project, the results of that work of perseverance is real.
The other benefits include those mentioned in the scientific studies I mentioned above. The link there does a nice job of summarizing them. Another that is not specifically mentioned is one that is especially meaningful to me, which is that while slow progress knitting takes a lot of time, it also provides a lot of time for thinking.
I’m a slow processer and an overthinker. I value thinking time. If I have decisions to make, conflicts to sort out, strategies to plan, articles to write, etc., I need knitting time so I can think. I’m a pretty extreme introvert, so after spending several hours “peopling,” I appreciate quiet knitting time to recharge. When everything feels overwhelming, I knit and pray. Slow progress knitting time can be a gift.
5. Realize You Have Been Transformed
At the beginning of the project, I encouraged you to recognize that you are in the business of transformation. Exciting stuff!
What is even more wonderful than transforming string to beauty with sticks is the fact that in the process of slowly creating something beautiful, over time, you also have been changed. You are not the same person you were before you cast on the first stitch.
Whether it’s been three weeks or three years, a lot has happened in your life. You’ve interacted with other people, for good and for ill. You’ve read, seen, sung, heard, thought, spoken, moved, sat, slept. You’ve learned. You’ve aged. You’ve rejoiced and grieved. You’ve passed yards of yarn through your fingers over the span of many hours, reflected on your days and the people in them. You’ve been quiet with your thoughts, or maybe struggled with the noise of them. You’ve patiently, carefully, personally created something new.
You’ve changed.
If we accept that the benefits of knitting are real, you’ve most likely changed for the better.
Slow progress is powerful. I hope you will be encouraged to see it as an opportunity to enrich your knitting experiences.
Happy knitting!
Kiersten J
