Mindless Knitter Knitting

The Kids Crayon Sweater and now Hat continues to kick my butt. What is the problem?!!! It's the yarn, no it's the knitter, no it's the pattern instructions, no it's the knitter. It could be all of the above. I have come to the conclusion that my favorite part of any knitting project is the mindless knitting. Give me garter stitch or stockinette in the round and I reach my zen. I can even reach it in garter in the round or straight stockinette where I have to purl, but throw in some other colors, a knit two together on every third row, a knit two together every fifth stitch and my rhythm is thrown off. I have to pay attention. My zen is gone.

I love patterns, the more intricate the better. I love to figure them out and get them going correctly. I've swatched for a cable sweater I can't wait to begin. But I know what will happen. I'll have to pay attention. The process will become jarring to my senses. Let me put it in writing here and now: I LOVE MINDLESS KNITTING!!! Some complain of it. "Aaccck! More mindless knitting" they say. I absolutely adore it. Bring me more mindless knitting!

So maybe I'm a mindless knitter. No I'm not! I have a brain. I have a mind. It just doesn't like to work too hard on the knitting. It wants to wander off onto summer vacation, home decorating, the storyline of an audio book or a movie, Jeopardy, Top Chef, even American Idol. Anything except remembering to yarn over after the eighth stitch. Once the mystery of a knit pattern is solved, that I have conquered it, I'm ready to go back to wonderful, comfortable, mindless knitting.

My favorite handknit socks are top down stockinette with just a couple of inches of 2x2 ribbing at the beginning. My least favorite handknit socks have been the 2x2 cuff then 4x2 ribbing down through the instep. Never again! I'll save those for the circular sock machine.

Okay, I'm making time on the hat. Somewhere during the trip to the pageant in Little Miss Sunshine I screwed up the decreases. I tried to fix them during the pageant. Big mistake. As the credits rolled at the end, the perfectionist in me raised her ugly head and today I will rip back to the first decrease row and start decreasing again . . .

Bona Fide Knitter--Mindless?