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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
 Posted - 05/06/2008 : 11:07:51 AM
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I got no mojo.
I suddenly feel like my knitting is causing stress and not alleviating it. My last project was a pair of socks and, even taking a break of a few weeks while knitting the second sock, it seemed endless which has never happened to me before.
I have 3 sweaters in bags - one for me needs sleeves, one for my brother's kids needs pickup on neck and hood, other one for kids just needs sleeves sewn on & buttons. Also, Babette Blanket needs to be sewn together and Mitered Square blanket needs more squares and finishing.
I want these projects finished but I don't want to do them. I also don't want to start anything else until these are done. I don't want to match stripes, do short rows, follow a pattern, identify errata, deal with pooling, figure out sizing, or have to ultimately sew anything together. I don't even want to buy yarn.
I have a 3 hour train trip coming up this weekend. I'm thinking placemats in Sugar n Cream. Maybe crocheted.
GFTC of NYC
www.flickr.com/photos/gftc_knits/
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susan14_23
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
550 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 11:37:19 AM
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Yes, I bet a simple project with no seams, sleeves, etc. will bring back your love of knitting. Then you can return fresh to your UFOs.
Another tactic is to bite the bullet and set aside a day to just throw yourself into finishing up these projects and finally get them out of your hair. (Assuming you don't have small kids in which case getting an hour to yourself is a rare treat!) I like to get the hardest part or project out of the way first so as I'm getting tired the work gets easier.
We all go through knitting slumps, and it'll pass in time. Good luck! 
Susan |
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MindyO
Permanent Resident
USA
2493 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 12:07:03 PM
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I totally didn't understand how anyone could think knitting was relaxing! To me it was nothing but frustration, tangles, mistakes, reknitting... I have a very extensive (and sometimes comical) list of curses that I frequently use, quite explosively some days. I have gotten to the point where if I'm doing mindless repeats and simple things I can zone out and relax, but as I've posted before, most of my projects have at least 3 starts. I've gotten better so it's not as stressful, but some days I won't even look at my yarn!
Things like lace patterns that are more than a 4 row repeat stress me out since I have to pay attention so I can only do maybe a few repeats before I have to set it down for a week or so. I like the brainless knitting, like a scarf, or something in stockinette, a simple rib. That part is relaxing, I usually have 4 or 5 things going, like everyone else. I've got a pair of kid socks in a basic eyelet pattern, a kid sweater with cabled front, an afghan with knit and purl squares, and lace shawl. I try to have something simple, something mid-level and something more in depth all at the same time just in case I need a break. SO yes! Quite stressful at times 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeeks76/
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AngieSue
Permanent Resident
USA
1606 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 12:14:38 PM
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From reading your post, it sounds like you don't want to think about knitting for all. Other than still visiting the forum (you must continue this ), give yourself a break if you need it. The yarn, needles and projects will still be there waiting for you whenever you get the urge.
I've been knitting so much for the last year, even over last summer, that I'm finding myself wanting to do other things. Like Clara mentioned in another post, I would much rather be outside smelling the lilacs, planting radish seeds or just enjoying the beautiful spring greenery. I might start a project, like a lace tablecloth, but I'm not going to push myself to meet any deadlines or force myself into thinking that "I must get this done." I can knit 365 days a year but Spring and Summer only happen once a year.
Angie
My pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26414328@N00/
My blog: http://zippyzinnia.blogspot.com |
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gwtreece
Permanent Resident
USA
7254 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 1:23:49 PM
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I think you have Spring fever.
Wanda
My Blog
Ravelry - gwtreece
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eldergirl
Permanent Resident
USA
1673 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 1:45:41 PM
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I kinda think you might have a case of Spring Fever, too, mixed with a dose of Knitter's Fatigue Syndrome, for which the best remedies are known only to you, but which might include lots of time for yourself, good books, perfumed baths, delicious massages, can anyone think of other remedies?
Best wishes, GTFC,
Anna |
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beedee
Seriously Hooked
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 2:35:11 PM
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| Spring! Fresh air and sunshine! Don't nurse your Spring Fever indoors. All those UFO's hanging over you? Toppling? If you've got something nearly done, maybe it's time to call in the person for whom it is intended. Coach THEM in the finishing techniques (while you sit back and enjoy your favorite beverage). Put on a "Spring Fever" fashion show while the weather still mildly reminds you of the garment's suitability, climate-wise. Share the bounty while emptying your storage space of UFO's! I'm a fine one to talk! I've got three pairs of socks (one over-the-knee-high, and two to just below the knee-cap) to finish before May 24 of this year. |
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Cheerleader9
Permanent Resident
USA
1563 Posts |
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sparkleplenty
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
484 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 07:45:02 AM
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I've lost my mojo too. I've got to frog my lace shawl for the third time, and I can't get gauge on a cardigan. I'm working on a giant felted door mitten and I can't seem to get terribly interested in that. I hope it is just spring fever! Part of me misses the enjoyment I get out of knitting, and the relaxing aspect that comes with getting into a groove with it. The other part of me feels distracted!
sparkleplenty
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If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.
~Mahatma Gandhi |
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fmarrs
Guardian angel
USA
9776 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 07:57:21 AM
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quote:
I suddenly feel like my knitting is causing stress
Stress is an internal thing. It is an individuals reaction to something that makes a person feel stress. In other words, it is your personal reaction, not the knitting, that is causing stress. You just happen to be knitting when you feel the stress. If knitting caused stress, all knitters would be stressed. So let's not talk about knitting and instead talk about you.
Give yourself a break, we all have these episodes. Do some stress reduction things like meditation or physical activity, follow a really healthy diet for a while, reward yourself. Above all, don't worry about your knitting. You will get your mojo back.
fran
http://martianmischief.blogspot.com/ |
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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 08:06:22 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by fmarrs
You just happen to be knitting when you feel the stress.
Give yourself a break, we all have these episodes. Do some stress reduction things like meditation or physical activity, follow a really healthy diet for a while, reward yourself. Above all, don't worry about your knitting. You will get your mojo back.
Actually, it's looking at the WIPs and thinking about a new project that was stressing me, not the actual knitting.
But you are on to something with your suggestions. My little dog is now at the point where he practically says, "But we just went for a walk, let me sleep!" I have been on a healthy diet for months now (I finally admitted that Doritos and V-8 do not a dinner make.) Last night I walked almost a mile, with the dog, to get a kosher hot dog and an order of French fries. I felt a whole lot happier after that!
GFTC of NYC
www.flickr.com/photos/gftc_knits/
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msbeader
New Pal
12 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 9:09:45 PM
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| I rotate my WIPs so I don't get tired of them. I'll work one or two rows on an afghan, go to a sweater I'm knitting for myself, then to a mitered square blanket in sock yarn. They are all so different that I stay interested. I also get outside, meet with friends and get enough rest. It all helps. Hope your ennui passes very soon |
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lella
Permanent Resident
9697 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 11:04:58 PM
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I feel this too. All of a sudden, I just don't feel like knitting. What can solve it, I have no clue, except to keep moving on the projects I have started and try to remember that I really love to knit and it usually solves so many emotional ups and downs.. evens them out. A joy, until just about a month ago. Very weird. Maybe it's something in the water?
Zippiknits
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knitterlady
Chatty Knitter
USA
129 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 04:06:59 AM
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| For me, knitting becomes stressful when it starts to feel like work. This doesn't happen too often because I tend not to knit for gifts (I've already scarved everyone I know at least once), so I'm not often subject to deadline knitting. But there are times when I'm just not up for it. That's when I lay my current project(s) aside, maybe leaf through some pattern and fondle the stash, and wait for the mojo to return. So far, it always has. |
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Eleanor
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
583 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 04:54:25 AM
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| It is hard to try and stay indoors and knit when it's a beautiful Spring day, not to mention all the "outside work" I have to do (like planting my flowers); but I find that knitting fills in the gaps eventhough I'm having a little stress now with an afghan with a pony on it for my gd's birthday in June! I haven't knitted anything with different colors from a graph in a long time and I find myself ripping out more than I knit sometimes! lol (but I'm still laughing and hoping that my gd of 9yrs will appreciate my "hard" work, and even come to realize (when she sees any mistakes) that no one is perfect! lol "It's the thought that counts", right?! Well, if she doesn't get it for her birthday, there's always Xmas and she may even get the pullover sweater to match! My only "fear" is that her brothers are going to ask for one with their favorite characters and I'll be having to make something even "harder"! And that's my "stress" for today! And whenever unfinished projects are mentioned, I thing of the pretty hot pink shell I made myself waiting to be sewn together, and the bag full of beautiful squares for a bedspread waiting to be put together for more than a "few" years now! Now that shows how I handle stress! "Out of sight, out of mind"! lol |
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knittymommy
Warming Up
USA
94 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 05:04:50 AM
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Now and then, you need a knitting get away. Go enjoy the fresh air and flowers. Take a new book on your train trip. Maybe by the time you get back, you'll feel like knitting again.
T.L. |
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DebbiOH
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
525 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 07:24:08 AM
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Agree with Wanda, I think some of us have Spring Fever. I usually knit in little bits of time but lately even those little bits are taken up with spring time chores. I forgot how much time we spent on the lawn and flower beds.
~Debbi~NW Ohio
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aroesler2@cox.net
New Pal
2 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 07:24:27 AM
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| Yes! I begin to feel as if I'm in a race to finish as many projects as possible or even just the one I'm working on. Because some of the knitters in my community either knit faster than I do or have more time to knit than I do. I then have to take deep breaths and remind my self that I knit because I love it, not because I'm in a competition. |
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sherirob1@aol.com
New Pal
6 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 07:32:25 AM
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I can relate. I just finished a jacket that I worked on for 3-4 months. As I was working along it appeared that it would fit. After sewing it all together, it looks absolutely horrible. Now that is upsetting. So I hung it up in the closet (along with two others that don't fit) and just started knitting a mindless project (garter st. all the way) so I don't lose my enthusiasm for knitting altogether. That is my suggestion for anyone who gets stressed out. Just work on something mindless to restore the faith.
Sheri
San Diego |
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elleng4044
New Pal
USA
21 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 07:42:14 AM
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I know I am having a heck of a time finishing this particular pair of socks. Just "doing it" is what I "think" I will do, now ?? when???:-)
Whew*
Ellen
Ellen |
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kcknitnut
New Pal
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 08:19:19 AM
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This is weird. I have almost finished my DS's afghan and it just won't finish. Maybe it's the color..5 shades of brown, that is doing it.[:00]
Usually I have a couple of projects going at once so bordom doesn't settle in. Just got yarn for a Civil War Shawl that looks like quite a challenge. It's a very lacy,done in a circle, pattern changing pattern. I'd better not get bored with it.......... |
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Can knitting cause stress?
