In a knitting slump? I have a theory...and three patterns to share!
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- Опубликовано: 16 июл 2024
- Today I'm sharing a theory I have on how to get out of a creative/knitting slump and three knitting patterns that may be the ticket for me!
Pattern Suggestion 1: 06:46
Pattern Suggestion 2: 07:37
Pattern Suggestion 3: 09:12
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Today I'm sharing a theory I have on how to get out of a creative/knitting slump and three knitting patterns that may be the ticket for me! Enjoy. ❤
"It was super nerdy." That's what I come here for! 😆
I hit a knitting slump every summer, and it took me a long time to figure out why. I’m used to getting inspiration and motivation from knitting podcasts, and every summer they are full of socks and summer tops. I don’t enjoy knitting socks or cotton/linen fingering weight tops. All of my usual sources of inspiration like RUclips and insta are feeding me pictures of things I don’t want to make. Now, I usually catch up on older fall/winter podcasts in the summer and it helps a lot.
I've started a pair of colorwork mittens from yarn I spun over the winter. The wool isn't great on humid days, but at least it's not a lap full!
I found myself in a knitting slump that lasted over a year. I had a huge number of WIPs, none of which I was the least bit interested in. The times wanted to knit, I would feel guilty about casting on something new, but I didn't want to work on my existing projects, so I just didn't work on anything. I had an enormous stash because I love yarn so much. I didn't realize how enormous until we bought our new house and had to move it.
Thankfully, I was able to give away quite a bit of it to friends, new fiber artists, and family members. I then decided to undo the projects I knew I had no desire to complete. I still have quite a lot of yarn, but it all fits in one closet now! My motivation returned in January. We were out of town shopping, when I just had a random desire to visit the yarn shop I used to go to. I picked out a pattern I loved and the owner helped me pick out a yarn that was completely new to me to knit it with (she's an amazing person). Since that day, I have completed several projects, and even destashed some more.
I don't know why I felt the need to ramble on like this. I'm just so happy to be knitting again. I'm never going to be a person who has a small stash, or just buys as I go, but I am OK with that. I am, however, going to be more mindful about having a project in mind for what I buy.
I have some projects that sat in WIP mode for actual years! What I have done with those that are over a year old is frog them and plan a different project with that yarn. It has made all the difference in the last year! I do still have one project that is mohair that I cannot employ this method of kickstart, but I have that project in it's own vacuum pouch ready to finish. What is left to do on that project is rather boring, so it will be my, work on it next after finishing a really simple blanket pattern.
When “slumping” I watch videos with new knitting techniques and more often than not something will feed the knitting bug.
Very interesting decision. I already have to do so many things I don't want to do, I wouldn't do that with my knitting. I just accept knitting as a seasonally variable activity, and in the summer it's mostly socks and toys. Just today I finished my second Emotional Support Chicken, and that thing is going to make me smile every time I pass through the living room and see it on the back of the chair, leaning against the wall and looking at me with its big blue safety eyes! I'm seriously considering making Sheldon the Sheep next. It's summertime. It's fine.
Ironically, i just fixed my months long knitting slump last night. I haven't wanted to knit anything, so I pushed myself to just finish the project that was the closest to being done. After that, I put to back all my wintery wool projects and while I felt a lot better, I still didn't feel the knitting joy. So with my summer yarn projects, I started rolling dice. Last night I picked up a cotton jacket that's been limping along since at least last summer. It seemed so practice, something I can just toss on in a waiting room and then stuff in a bag when I get back out in the miserable heat. Well it might still be practice, but when I picked it up this time, it felt like the project was saying it wanted to be a striped tee instead, and since I grabbed a contract color and started working on that all my knitting joy is back
I have started considering pattern hoarding and yarn collecting to be completely separate hobbies. 😂 Sometimes when I don't feel like knitting/crocheting, I just spend hours scouring Ravelry for patterns and inspiration!
My slumps are usually triggered by languishing WIPs that niggle in my head like a buzzing mosquito. I hate that feeling. About three months ago, determined to get three sweater WIPs completed, I came up with a new plan: I took the sweater that was closest to completion and set it out on the bed in a spare bedroom. Needles and yarn in position...ready. Then, I set a daily "Go to your room young lady and devote 20 minutes to your homework!" alarm on my phone. With my mother's voice resounding in my 60-years-ago teenage head, I went to that bedroom, picked up the project, set a timer for 20 minutes, knit, set down the project, and walked away, even closing the bedroom door behind me to make the WIP (and my mother's scolding voice of yore) disappear. I finished that sweater in less than one week! That's how close I was to completion! I am now working this regimen on sweater WIP #2 and anticipate having it completed by end of July. I think (fingers crossed) I have broken my slump and am eager to cast on a brand new sweater project once WIP #3 is completed. Maybe this will work for others. 🙂
Whenever I'm in a knitting slump and I don't feel like knitting socks, usually in the warmer months, I find myself making crochet accessories or dolls instead...non wearable items. It helps my need to do something with my hands without the thought or feel of a hot, wool sweater lying on my lap. When fall rolls around again, I'll happily go back to bulkier knitting/crocheting projects.
My knitting and spinning slumps are generally related to a depression I go through around the death of my youngest son. And after a month of not wanting to work on any of my knitting or do any spinning I find a reason I need to get something finished and make myself get started and find the drive to knit or spin is still there and the peace of doing those things return. Everyone goes through a slump for varying reasons, but making a reason to have to finish something is what brings me out of mine. Peace and cheer to all who need it.
Sending you love
@@chrissy24-7 Thank you, love is always good, appreciate it.
This is so interesting to me. I’m always in a “something” slump because I have multiple interests. If I’ve got a spinning mojo I might not feel like journaling, if I feel like knitting then I’ll probably not want to spin at all… I’m so used to this that I just go with the flow and enjoy what I enjoy in the moment! It never occurred to me to force myself to try out the thing I didn’t want to try 😅
Fellow knitting "slumpee" here, from Laval, Québec, Canada.
My usual MO is to pack up my wooly yarn in May and pick it up again in October when sweater weather is back. I will turn to plant based yarn for the summer, like linen, cotton, hemp, lyocell (including silk, for full disclosure), and knit mainly tees and camisoles. I've made a few since May but after finishing my latest, a second version of a short sleeved Ravello, by Isabell Kraemer, I've hit a bump in the road and can't seem to go again.
Sooo, I went to my "Summer Yarn" tub, squished and handled my skeins and pulled out the ones that brought me the most joy. I caked them and then went on Ravelry to my Queue and found which patterns approximately matched the recommended gauge of each yarn.
And then I swatched, and swatched, and swatched...and swatched some more. Just knitting for knitting's sake takes the whole pressure off and you know that you're not waisting time because those bloody things have to be made anyway, right?
I used Laura Nelkin's method to swatch in the round and it's a game changer!
ruclips.net/video/4A59F9L4P-E/видео.html
It's soooo much more pleasant to make swatches that way, without all those dangling threads in the back that sometimes are too short and prevent you from having your swatch lie flat without cutting them (which is a real bummer if you end up loosing at yarn chicken).
So far, I've made seven of those puppies in the last three days, and once I've dunked them, put them on my cookie grill and leave them overnight for the swatch fairy to visit, I document the data from each in my Ravelry stash. A little bit OCD you might think? Yeah, but it's the ritual of doing it that's getting me out of my funk and getting my juices flowing again. Now, I already know which project I'll be making with each of my swatched yarns and the best thing is that I won't have to swatch because they've been done already! So when I want to start....now! now! now! I'll be able to without any guilt, or regrets afterwards.
So basically, to get out of my funk, I turned to my yarn for therapy...and let it whisper to me what it wanted to become.
Thank you for taking the time and making the efforts to publish your podcasts. I am a recent subscriber and I really enjoy your vibe.
PS: Please be patient with my English...it's not my first language and sometimes when I write, it comes out wonky.
I've been knitting for 16 years and always stopped in the summer. There was just something about having wool slip through my fingers when it's hot and humid that was not appealing. However, I finally switched to cotton blends this summer for tanks and tees and I have no problem. I'm thrilled to be able to knit year round.
Using the fabric YOU want to knit (for drape, density etc) makes so much more sense to me. Trying to fit into other peoples’ boxes is really hard.
I started knitting years ago by knitting freehand. I didn’t know I was doing it, but I’d see how many stitches were in an inch, then I’d know the cast on number and could draw the color chart.
I had never heard of patterns!
Ah youth.
I’m fortunate that I knit and crochet. If I have a slump in one, I do the other. I do prefer to use cotton yarns when it’s hot out. But knitting a woolly sweater over the summer means you’ll have it for the fall. 😊
Yes. Summer knitting slump in PNW. Long days, gardens = neglected knitting.
I want a summer top to wear at work. Been overwhelmed with patterns. Will try coffee shop technique. 😂
My usual way out of a slump is to get over myself and start a new wip. I always feel guilty for starting something new when i have so many projects on the go, but the momentum from knitting up a new project usually helps me finish more
For the past two years or so it's like all of my creativity goes to crochet. It's been a knitting slump that whole time, but endless crochet creativity. And it's driving me crazy! I love both dearly, and I miss knitting!! But I just can't motivate myself to knit. So I'm going to try this this weekend, thank you!!
I’m in a slump too. Started to knit a small cellphone purse just to knit. It helped some. Watching knitting videos just to keep motivated. Going to do your suggestion, get a pattern and start. Good luck to all in the same boat.
I can't tell you how many times I've lost all steam on my knitting in the dead of summer, but finally, not so this year! I'm a Californian also in the middle of a triple-digit heat wave and for a long time I always tried to trade out my wooly knits for "summer knitting" projects or a pair of socks that just end up languishing forever until it's cold enough for me to pick up another sweater. (Don't ask me how many sets of size 2 DPNs I've just abandoned in a bin somewhere with a half-finished sock on them) But this year, I've adopted the practice of having one "warm weather" and one "cold weather" knit going (as well as a pair of socks) and I think this is the perfect balance, and that I don't hate summer knitting as much as I thought I did - I just needed variety of choice. I really think this has banished the slump for me, since I can simply switch projects when the mood strikes me, and I've been making exponentially more progress on all my projects across the board than I ever did focusing on one lacy cotton top at a time. If MY theory is correct, once the sweater gives you your mojo back, you'll find the socks more enjoyable, and so on and so forth. :)
Cotton, linen, or silk yarn comprise all my summer knitting and crochet projects. Feels good in my hands this time of year. I made the Hollows shawl with 100% dk weight cotton and so enjoyed the process.
I’m also knitting silk neckties for Christmas gifts.
When I hit a knitting slump, I try to turn to another craft -- embroidery, needlepoint, spinning, or whatever. I also like to try something completely new first because it's fun but also because it reminds me that I'm a pretty good knitter!
Wouldn't say I'm in a slump so much as stuck being indecisive about all the projects I want to knit and crochet. But I find that it helps to make myself cast on a project that'll take some time and patience. Currently knitting on 2.5 mm needles with lace weight yarn, and I expect for it to take ages. So now I'll have that to return to when I can't decide what new thing I want to start working on
I was in a slump thanks to frogging so many WIPs that were almost done, and looked "fine". Ultimately, as I was going to finish with one cuff left, OR start the second sleeve for a second time, OR the cable on the raglan was coming together, I didn't see myself wearing the items I made. I've FROGGED so many in the past 3-4 months.
To your theory, I was shared the news of new additions to my friends' circle (they're expecting). So, naturally, I thought baby blankets. Frogged it, dreaded it, feeling like it was the most boring project ever right now. I decided to knit cardigans and was excited as they were coming together. And, baby cardigans are just tiny and adorable! On the day my gift delivered to their front door, she asks, "Is it a blanket?" UGGGGGGH. I put the 2nd baby cardigan WIP aside, and it took me 2+ weeks to knit a BABY BLANKET. I recently packed the finish product and it was supposed to have delivered a couple days ago. I hope she likes it!
Now, I am working on a colorwork sweater, and while my tension and technique need improvement, I am excited to see the patterns emerge.
When I'm in a knitting slump and I haven't touched it for weeks or months, I pick up a project that is almost done or the closest to being done out of them all. Look at the pattern and do the next row. Then, the next row. It's that first next row that's the hardest. After that, it's off to the races. It's just picking it up that is the hardest. One row at a time. Baby steps.
I’ve been in a slump, most of it is personal but a lot of it is creative slump. I need to go through what I’m working on and see if I should frog or finish, maybe that’ll inspire me. I’d love to see you do another video like that, if the WIPs are overwhelming!
I rarely have a slump. I lean into arbitrary deadlines and knit one item a month for Christmas giving (this year it’s 12 cowls for 12 great nephews), plus Sunday Squares so my blanket doesn’t languish. I normally do Christmas in July and have cast on a Christmas sweater for myself, but another nephew and his wife are expecting a baby I. September in Australia , so I drop everything for a baby emergency. Almost done the blanket so I can jump back into the yoke of my sweater in a spot that I have kindly marked and left ready. Knitting with friends also helps. We meet every Monday and just share our projects and our dreams.
It is interesting that when I'm in a slump, I don't want to "fuss" with anything. I don't mind planning something fussy such as searching patterns, knitting swatches, planning a project, etc. I just don't want to actually start the project fully. What I like to do when it is hot and I'm in this mode is have an easy mindless project such as a blanket (I don't wear scarfs, hats, or shawls and I absolutely hate knitting socks and color work) and plan some projects with stash I have and store the notes, swatches etc. with that yarn. I've gotten extremely productive with this method and I'm averaging a sweater a month give or take.
I usually have several wips going at a time, so I choose the one that is closest to being done and push through it. The hit of dopamine plus the fun of choosing my next cast on are enough to drag me out of a slump.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts!
I too am in a knitting slump because I need to learn how to do short rows before tackling your lovely tshirt pattern. You are so right, just do thing you are avoiding and get over the slump....Im on it 🤪
If I get in a slump, I go through all my yarn. I take it out and look at the colors and the feel, and remember why I love knitting. It's those colors that get to me. Another thing I was thinking about is this. If you see a sweater you love, just love it all, the perfect color and all. And then you find yarn in a different color that you love and you use that instead, then when it's done, I look at it and I'm not loving it because I really loved it in the original colorway. That is what makes my slump. Not having the right color to make that inspired thing.
Interesting idea… I like the “just confront it” approach and find I need to do that when perfectionism is preventing me from getting started. However, I find that if I think I need to finish X before I start Y, but in fact I’m put off by X and really want to work on Y that this can actually cause a crocheting or weaving slump for me 😅 On a different note, I find organizing and my stash and winding some yarn is a sure fire way to get me in the mood to make something 🤓
I’ve discovered Knitting baby items for hospitals as small fillers during and between creative slumps very much appreciated items. And the yarn is provided. There are guidelines. Each hospital has fair enough, but that gets me through the slumps.
MANY years ago, I once went 6 months without knitting, no idea why! I'm also somebody who wants to do ALL THE THINGS, so I don't worry about "slumps". I have a rigid heddle loom that I haven't touched in almost 6 months. I started a project which turned out to be extremely boring to weave (straight up plain weave with solid black yarn), so it's in time out until I feel like working on it again. I just started a "Le Pouf" sweater, which I'm obsessed with. I'm using exclusively stash yarn, which feels almost virtuous. 😂
I also hit a slump in the summer but my biggest hurdle is that I hate casting on (I know, I am odd!). So, whenever I feel inspiration, I try to cast on right away so it hibernates until I want to knit it. Also, when I hit a slump, I go to my other crafty hobbies, embroidery or crochet, until I am inspired to knit again.
Whenever I'm in a knitting slump I tend to end up doing a crochet project as a palette cleanser. Sometimes I just need to see a project grow quicker.
I have to say that the idea of knitting a woolly anything in 118 degree heat turns me right off 😂, so I think the slump is entirely understandable! When I get in a slump, I look to something that will teach me something new. That’s how I picked up crochet and Tunisian crochet. The other day I came across these new to me styles of knitting. One was called Fission knitting, and the other was called Fusion knitting both by Mary W Martin Knits. They are a type of double sided color work.
If you can’t break your knitting slump this is also a great time to spin (in the ac) along with tour de fleece! I’ve found myself knitting less and spinning more, then the yarn you make might inspire you to knit something with it when the weather is more inspiring.
I am also in a knitting slump! Gifted a hat I finished a few weeks ago, and don’t really want to start on anything else even though I have some ideas - committing to anything feels hard. Also got myself a bookseat by your recommendation - so something simple that I can read and knit is an idea. I was thinking about a palate cleanser project - something like a wash cloth or something super quick. I have been more of a gift knitter - so maybe I need to cast on something for me. XO
Slumps are real in all creative areas. I just tried using watercolor crayons to help me get back into painting for my children's book. Love the second white yarn idea better. Fuzzy and I don't get along - just me. Good luck with your slump - pushing through does help!
Perfectly understandable not to feel like knitting in a heat wave! Since it’s not my job, (or even my only hobby!) I have no anxiety about taking a few weeks off. But I hope your method works too!
Facing anxiety and proving to your brain nothing bad happened is very powerful and I think when it comes to creative projects we can have some sort of anxiety blocking us even if it's just about what we 'should' be doing. Sometimes you need to refill the well and get excited about something again. Sometimes you are a person who cycles through various hobbies. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to start or keep working on something foe just 5 minutes and it's enough to help break your stuck momentum. Looking forward to the update to this video. Happy crafting yall.
Another point of view: I am knitting a cardigan hoping it will be done by the time cooler weather sets in.
Agree with your hypothesis - not unlike the reading every day for 30mins committment. I have felt that way about sewing and will sometimes/quilting/bag making and will make myself at least cut out a bite-sized bag project and that typically will jump start the mojo. Knitting is so much an anti-anxiety treatment for me and our world is so nuts right now, that the yearning for the solace is keeping me going.
In my normal summer knitting slump. In the winter, I can't put my knitting down. In the summer, I can't look at it. Last month I did force myself to actually finish a tank top I started June 2023 (!), that only needed a few inches of stockinette for the past 12 months. But I didn't enjoy it. However, watching knitting videos, such as this one, does give me a tiny twinge of sadness about not having anything on the needles right now. Give me cool, rainy day, and I'll be off and running again!
Honestly, yes. 100% this is me. I feel so seen and heard with your comment Jessie. ☺️❤️
I have this too when I get bored, but then I switch from machine knitting to hand knitting and back again. Fine cotton is easier and faster done on the machine for summer. 😂
I absolutely love knitting. But I get knitting slumps too - sometimes it is caused by texture overwhelm and overall exhaustion. However, even slightly colder weather motivates me to get back to yarn and needles. A little summer breeze here in Northern Europe serves as a good reminder that summer is short and I would much rather have that sweater ready by the mid-autumn. And keeping hands moisturized helps with sensory issues.
I’m in a slump right now, but it’s due to my ADHD/executive disfunction causing me to approach burn out. All the projects I want to work on are too complex for me to concentrate on right now. Fun fact about ADHD - the harder you push to ‘break through’, the more your brain stops working. So I took up spinning. Got myself a drop spindle and some combed top and that was something I could do! Then, as I finished the first pack of starter fibre, I found that I could work on stockinette projects again. My Norah’s Vintage Afghan cabled blanket pattern is still waiting for me to get back to it, sidelined first by hand issues, then sidelined by brain issues, but hopefully someday soon!
I kinda slump every summer, but this year, I have made two lighter sweaters (Berocco Remix Light) and that has helped a lot. Now, I've started crocheting a blanket with stash alpaca yarn - dealing with the knitting slump by crocheting! It's challenging me.
Listening to this episode while knitting a wool sweater while also in a heat wave… my hands are SWEATING. I am dreaming of summer garments lol.
But I hope thinking about wooly sweaters/ casting one on helps you get back in the groove!!
I like this idea and will give it a go the next time I am in a creative slump. Thank you. 💖
I crochet, but imagine my solution could also be helpful with knitting as well. I found I couldn't stand crocheting because I was using metal hooks that always got sweaty and oily after only a few minutes and that drove me batty. Now that I use bamboo/wooden hooks, I find I enjoy crocheting during the summer a lot more!
I knit hunter hammersen's Palpitations to keep knitting in a slump. I can knit 1 on DPNs in an evening including stuffing with polyfil, yarn scraps, and lavender buds. I gave a bunch away so I feel like I need to replenish them. Thinking about learning the little star she has.
I’m in a slump with everything. Life in general and knitting and crochet. Interesting take on it. I’ll definitely give it some thought. Thanks Tayler.😊
May sound irrelevant, but I watched a short of Andrew Huberman talking with David Goggins about the neuroscience of forcing yourself to do the thing you DO NOT want to do and how doing that increases a specific part of your brain and it actually increases willpower. It just made me think, if we did the project we don't want to do and that gets us over the knitting slump, does that decrease the chance of a knitting slump next time?? 🤔
Excited to see if your theory works!
It's so nice to hear this because hearing/seeing someone being honest about struggling with knitting is relatable! I also encounter my own "quandaries" when it comes to knitting. I don't have anyone in my life who knits that I can talk to- so I am going to vent about it here whether or not anyone can be helpful to me!
While knitting brings me much pleasure, it also has been the catalyst for much unhappiness that I am on the verge of quitting! When I see all the patterns as well as yarns out there and know that I will never get to knit all the things I want to, I think I may as well give up. That's just for starters. I'm currently trudging along on an all garter and an all stockinette project, and I am itching to work on something more interesting, so I am wanting to get my next project out of the gate, but I get paralyzed by all the choices available. I wish I had a method to get out of this type of creative block.
This is a VERY real issue with lots of folks and I would love to explore this more in a video all on its own if you would be ok with me sharing your comment? I think this niche is saturated with choices-be it yarn, patterns, techniques, ways to share, that it can be very overwhelming.
@@WOOLNEEDLESHANDS Cool! thanks for the acknowledgment! Of course you can share my comments. In addition to the challenges I mentioned above, or perhaps because of it, the knitting can become obsessive and compulsive. Perhaps the first step is just to admit that I have a problem! My rational brain can remember to put it in perspective. This is a wonderful hobby and it is meant to be a way to pass the time, and not be all-consuming?! (I am a busy mom with young children, I really don't have that much free time.) I'm always stealing moments here and there to knit. And probably because I don't have much time to knit, but do find it very easy to browse yarn and patterns online. I suppose this is a matter of self-discipline. I won't blame the internet.
Just putting that out there was therapeutic! But maybe I need actual therapy!
Sometimes I think it would be nice to subscribe to a knitting club that sends me yarn and a pattern and all I have to do is knit!
Nothing on my knitting needles is enthralling me! I'm totally thrilled with my counted cross stitch project however. Omg what you said about doing what we're not motivated by makes complete sense!
I'm in the midst of clearing out my craft room and it's a bomb site. I wasn't doing any Crafting of any kind for weeks. Last week I started socks but didn't get far, unravelling and making gloves instead. Now I'm making socks. However, I have so much habd-dyed sock yarn and I thought, why not make a crazy coloured sweater from my hand dyed yarn. So I'm just going to fulind a plain sweater and then sort out the yarn colours. It's winter in Australia, I should be knitting. I tend to make socks in summer, normally. So I'm inspired to try a sweater. It's been years since I last knitted a sweater. Now I'm looking forward to it.
Okay I am going to swatch for an alpaca blend sweater during a northern California heat wave. I suggest watching some Stephen West podcasts. He is so upbeat. Very contagious.
I have been in a slump, too. But, I keep on pumping out the socks because we love wearing them all year round. However, when I just can't do one more round of sock knitting, I try to find a pattern that includes a new technique, or at least one I haven't used in a while. This week, I found a beret with a Latvian braid cast-on and light colorwork, so it's really been fun and I can't put it down.
Gosh my slump for sewing has going for a year now.. 😅 instead of sewing, I’m knitting so much, improving my skills and right now I’m on a summer knit, Sailor Swift Top and Love Letter Top, both from KutovaKika
Loving your rambles ❤ thank you
I am finishing a sweater for Loose Ends Project. It is a fisherman's sweater in acrylic. We are finally getting hot weather (It's 73 today!!!!) and I'm just not feeling it. But I am going to press on today!
Your theory is worth testing! However I don't feel such slumps in my life depressing. In these periods I just tempted to do other things and probably need rest with my knitting. Lately I experienced a short pause with it but now I'm much more motivated, have so many ideas. So it definitely feels like I needed some rest.. 😊
I always go through a knitting slump this time of year, probably for the same exact reasons. I have a summer sweater in a fine silk yarn on the needles, and I’ve been making slooow progress, but it was feeling like such a slog. I unknowingly did exactly what you just described and I suddenly knew I HAD to knit a soft, squishy, colorwork sweater. I chose the Drawing sweater pattern, which is challenging in the best way (so many charts! Completely non-repeating colorwork pattern!), and it was the perfect choice. I’ve been going back and forth between my summer sweater and my winter-y sweater and am making good progress on both!
I really think you are on to something here. Keep curious! There is a very big difference between steering clear of unpleasurable projects (yarn, needles, pattern are all making for an irritating experience) and avoiding a project because of some other issue (lost confidence, fear, anxiety, overwhelm etc.). I had a bad experience with brioche which led me into a slump in which I only wanted to make fast and simple knits, and I was soon bored. I actually love complexity and challenge, so avoiding these things deprives me of the pleasure of complex challenges.
Yup, my summer knitting slump is in full swing 🤔 but my book reading is on fire 😄📚. I know by September at the latest, I’ll be knitting again 😄❤️👍🧶
SAME!! ❤️❤️
I hope your "exposure therapy" is working. I've experienced these slumps myself and know how frustrating they are. Your podcasts inspire me. I also find re-organizing my stash and knitting stuff helps. And of course, a browse in a yarn store. Haha. Good luck.
I've been in a knitting slump and haven't been able to find any projects to cast on that really excited me so what I decided to do was to finish some WIPs that have been hanging around for a while. I will admit that the only thing I feel like casting on these days is the emotional support chicken and I didn't finish it.
Though I wouldn't say I'm in a slump, I'm definitely feeling a bit...sluggish. I have many things on the needles right now, a few that are very nearly done, and my next projects selected with yarn purchased, but...I feel like i'm kind of making myself pick up my knitting. I tell myself that I only have to knit for 30 minutes and then I can stop (and I feel terrible saying that), and then all of a sudden I've been knitting for two hours, happy as a clam. The other day, I just could not make myself pick up the needles. And today I was struggling with it as well.
However, the other day, I let myself get lost in Ravelry. And today, I pulled out my polymer clay stuff to make custom stitch markers for myself (which I've been wanting to do for months). Both are knitting related, but not knitting, and both felt like what I needed in the moment. I have some work to do on the stitch markers (tomorrow!), but in the meantime, I've cast on a Step by Step Cardigan, and telling myself I can't stay up all night knitting.
Sometimes I think we just need a little something different to get our creative juices flowing.
I made the Cleo and was in fingering weight…a delight to knit!!! Very pleased with the result
Hot and humid here in coastal NC. I took all my wooly projects and put them in time out. Frankly two of them were at a difficult crossroad where I had decided to rip back a bit to refocus my effort. I picked up sone cotton Pima and began a Cancun boxy top. I can’t say that is tickling my fancy either. Today I watched the Knitty Stew podcast and she was talking about the Sunset Highway she has on her needles. I was so inspired I found myself in my stash wondering what four colors could I use to make it. Like I need anything else in my WIP pile. So slump here too.
I am in a slump as well! Thanks for the ideas
I’ve always bought yarn for specific projects. The problem is, I buy faster than I knit, so I’ve got a stash (who doesn't?) of project bags of yarn with patterns. Everything goes in my Ravelry queue, so when I’m in a slump, I shop my queue. There's always something there that inspires me anew.
BTW I don’t put Favorites in my Queue unless I have the yarn for it, and nothing goes in Projects until it is cast on.
I agree with you. I decided to take a couple of KALs. One of them is being lead by Sivia Harding. She is a wonderful teacher and knitting mentor. I decided to checkout some of her original designs on Ravelry. To my surprise, her patterns that excited me are the beaded lace designs. She has a book of knitted cowls accompanied by matching mitts. You may want to check her out. Happy knitting!
I think that is a great theory and I love your choices. Rather than a warm and cozy sweater, starting something with a fun motif seems perfect for summer! Makes sense to me. I'm totally in a knitting slump but I also crochet, dye and spin. I'm currently into granny squares! I'm having fun making totes and bags and I'm spinning the yarn to make it. I'm sure I will find my knitting mojo again soon.
I’m not in a slump but suffering from golfer’s elbow and tendinitis in my thumb. So I can’t knit! So I’ve switched crafts. I’m sewing project bags and joined Tour De Fleece with a facebook group. We are taking a road trip on Sunday and I’ll try knitting then. All that to say I am really looking forward to knitting!!! Might try something like that if you are in a slump ☺️😊🧶🧶🧶
Hi Tayler! I love the idea of just scanning Ravelry or any other source showcasing lots of different kinds of knitting patterns and projects, and seeing what I get inspired by. I do this regularly. Also I was in a terrible knitting slump about a year and a half ago when a friend in my knitting group recommended several knitting podcasts I might like, but I actually didn’t watch any of them until I was flat on my back with the flu and couldn’t do anything else. Discovering knitting podcasts (including yours) also completely rekindled my knitting mojo and continues to do so, as I have been incredibly productive ever since and have been able to ride through slumps more quickly.
14:34 I find watching a podcast or going on Ravelry helps me out of a slump. Also, casting on something new (get back to your wips later) Aircon is great for knitting in the heat too. So weird, because we're in mid-winter in South Africa and I'm loving being cozy and knitting up a storm!
I made myself finish the sommerknus lite by 4th of July and that triggered a knitting slump - I felt so sick of knitting in the last few weeks, even though I love the finished object (finished it just in time!). I think it was the (self-inflicted) deadline and pressure that was taking the fun out of my hobby. What has helped me was to shift gears and work on a fun, easy crochet project - I think it’s something about using a slightly different skill to occupy my brain but that still gives me that dopamine hit. Which crochet project you ask? The Taylor Swift crochet dress of course!
Cotton washcloths are all I can do in the summer. Embracing the break and know when fall hits I’ll be back.
100%! And handknit cotton washcloths are the best.
As I knitter in Australia that is usually warmish for most of the year, if I left the majority of my knitting for the winter I’d probably only get a sweater or two every few years. I like knitting in pieces so no one piece is that big. There is maybe a week or so where I may not knit and they are 40+ (104+ F) days. My body doesn’t do well at that temp so I usually end up asleep most of the time. If I do knit it’s because I’ve made it to the library or some other place with air conditioning.
Ive been working in therapy to learn how to face my fears. Apparently theres many things im scared of, and I cope by running from them. Ironically i feel like this advice might be an extension of that thought - face your fears. If you really don't want to do something, is it because you truly dont care for it, or is there a trickier reason youve been feeling weird about it? The energy and confidence you gain from doing something scary might very well inspire you to do fun things :)
What helped me get out of my knitting slump I’m in right now was to unravel a scarf I’d started knitting and that had gotten messed up during transport (some stitches fell off the needles, I lost count of the rows I’d done in the pattern, etc). It got to the point where just knowing that I had to sort it out at some point made me feel sad and annoyed. Redoing it from the beginning feels better, hopefully I can finish it now!
Love the ramble!!
I love the Southwest colour work vibe. On my list is the "Sheep Camp Sweater" by Jennifer Berg. OMG it is stunning!!!!! Good luck on your slump test!
I have to agree with you.
As challenging as it is. Once you start being creative...the flow happens.
My partner always eggs me on to be creative when I don't want to be, because he recognises how my mood changes once I start and how good I feel at the end of the project.
Motivation comes after the act.
I've been in a knitting slump for awhile. I live in the desert part of Texas where we have had triple digits days since May. We even have very mild winters here so no wooly projects for me. I like doing dishcloths and towels right now. Right now I'm doing a tawashi knot that one of my yarny friends introduced the group to. Our group meets once a month and we share projects, inspirations and our yarn hauls. I'm happy to be part of a group that inspires each other. I'm also trying to learn to crochet so I can make amigurumi.
I’m sitting here folding laundry while watching. Doing the very thing I really don’t want to do. 😂 Is there such thing as a laundry slump. I think I perpetually live there. 😅 My grandpa used to always say whatever you want to do least do first. And I find that if I procrastinate something the best thing to do is just do it. So with all that to say I think you have something going with your theory. And to cheer you on I know you’ll get through it and come out the other side wiser and can share that with us. 💛
I have to tell you, I made my first Book Nook this week! I am now addicted, and bonus, it helped my creative slump! Thank you for introducing me to yet another hobby! I love it! ❤
I'm as far from a knitting slump as it gets, but then it has been a cold, rainy, dismal summer so far here in southern Germany. I'm actually wearing a wollen sweater right now. Also my ADHD ass has about 35 WIPS, around 8 of them pretty active, including a test knit with complex colourwork that keeps my brain engaged. The only "summery" thing is that I've been knitting fingering weight sweaters and cardigans like a crazy person.
You mentioned in one of your hot takes videos that you hate the idea of knitting a fingering weight wool sweater, but personally I find these excellent for knitting in summer because they are light weight, no sticky mohair and they don't make your lap hot. Summer yarns with plant fibres are not as enjoyable to knit and so you can easily lose your mojo if you're primarily a garment knitter and feel constrained to either summer yarns or thick worsted-weight wool.
I call myself an adventurous knitter, past beginner but no way near an expert. I’m working on learning how to make socks this summer (it’s going) but I do feel the slump. I’m terrified about starting a sweater since I’ve never made one, I guess I’ll have to see if I get a slump to try. Great video, thanks.
I haven't run into a knitting slump but I do find that I lose my gardening mojo when it gets hot. Maybe I will apply this tactic in the early morning hours while it is cool and see if it helps. Thanks for thiis new approach to getting over my procrastination.
We all can relate to that! I am just knitting on something completely not weather appropriate which is the Lillehammer 94' Olympic Sweater and I absolutely love it! My other project is the Fairy Bouquet with brushed alpaca. At first, I was telling to myself «why would you want to work on those project in summer?» but that's just what I want to knit now so who cares! 😅
For me it depends on the type of slump. If I don’t even want to pick up needles, then I just wait until I do want to knit. If I do want to knit but either none of my WIPs inspire me then I will push to finish something with rewards. If I want to knit but don’t know what to knit next, then I’ll do a palate cleanser project and for me that’s either plain stockinette or garter or gnomes. I guess I’m in a slump since I’ve been churning gnomes the past few weeks.
I started looking at cable knit sweater patterns because I never liked that complicated a pattern. I ended up choosing one and got the yarn for it and then presto summer hits and I lost my inspiration for it. This vid will probably help me get out of it as I need to choose a different size then I normally wear. Thanks for the inspiration!
I completely agree. It's the same with yoga: the poses we don't want to do agree often the ones we need... and eventually fall in love with.
Good luck! I hope you kick that slump! Fellow southwesterner here. Living in southern New Mexico, I adore making Hempathy tees and sweaters that are cool, airy, and that I can wear three “seasons” of the year. It blooms into this better-than-cottony softness that’s light and breathes. The fabric is gorgeous, but doesn’t photograph as pretty as it is. It keeps me knitting through the summer. I made a full size comforter one summer…never again! If that were the only option I had for summer knitting, I would balk.