I like your blog, but why don't you talk more about
your process?
your process?
This sets me to wondering whether I can say truly that I have anything so orderly, so forward-looking, as a process when it comes to my knitting.
I wish I could answer with a firm yes. If compelled to pick a side–either a "product" knitter who knits according to what he wants to wear, or a "process" knitter who knits for the sake of knitting, I sit more often on the "process" side of the debating chamber.
But do I have a process?
It doesn't feel like I do. Does a hurricane have a process? Does an earthquake? How about a toddler?
I've been thinking about this a great deal lately, usually when I am having a terrible day at the drawing table or the writing desk. My thoughts wander to other people in the field and I imagine them, right at that moment, needles or pencils or fingers flying, turning out work that makes people start Ravelry threads with the ejaculation "Squee!" in the title.
In my imagination, their work spaces are always very pretty and spare, awaiting the arrival of the photographer from Real Simple. Clear surfaces, bathed in gentle sunlight. On the wall, side by side, a handsome calendar full of Important Dates and a long list of Works in Progress with neat tick marks next to those that have been finished. Often, cats pay silent witness to the birth of finished projects like the unborn souls peeking out from behind God the Father in Michelangelo's Creation of Adam.
My own space looks like a wreck caused by the collision of two trains–one carrying yarn and the other full of art supplies.
When I work, I sprawl like a Midwestern suburb. Over there, swatches and odd balls. Fore and aft, graph paper pencils eraser droppings empty water glass stitch markers books and more books. In the middle, me knitting.
The nuns always told me a person's possessions and home are an extension of his mind, and they were damn right. Because my mind feels like this most of the time. A jumble. A rotating bin of lottery balls from which I very occasionally draw a winning combination. More often, I tear up my worthless ticket and scatter the pieces across the mouldering heap.
It's a wonder, honestly, that I ever get anything done at all. I look over my project page on Ravelry sometimes and think, what the hell is the matter with you? I'm all over the place - from dust-colored hats to lime green socks. No coherent aesthetic, just impulsive forays into whatever wilderness looks prettiest when I get up in the morning.
I got an e-mail recently from somebody who said, in effect, you have a lot of nerve blogging on the same Internet as Brooklyn Tweed. More often that not, I am inclined to agree.
But maybe this is my process. Maybe I need chaos in order to create–however haphazardly–a snippet of order here and there. Maybe my style is no style and my palette is no palette. Maybe one day I will achieve the sunlight and the neat lists, or maybe I won't. I'm still new at this, so who can tell?
Meanwhile, I just keep knitting.
I wish I could answer with a firm yes. If compelled to pick a side–either a "product" knitter who knits according to what he wants to wear, or a "process" knitter who knits for the sake of knitting, I sit more often on the "process" side of the debating chamber.
But do I have a process?
It doesn't feel like I do. Does a hurricane have a process? Does an earthquake? How about a toddler?
I've been thinking about this a great deal lately, usually when I am having a terrible day at the drawing table or the writing desk. My thoughts wander to other people in the field and I imagine them, right at that moment, needles or pencils or fingers flying, turning out work that makes people start Ravelry threads with the ejaculation "Squee!" in the title.
In my imagination, their work spaces are always very pretty and spare, awaiting the arrival of the photographer from Real Simple. Clear surfaces, bathed in gentle sunlight. On the wall, side by side, a handsome calendar full of Important Dates and a long list of Works in Progress with neat tick marks next to those that have been finished. Often, cats pay silent witness to the birth of finished projects like the unborn souls peeking out from behind God the Father in Michelangelo's Creation of Adam.
My own space looks like a wreck caused by the collision of two trains–one carrying yarn and the other full of art supplies.
When I work, I sprawl like a Midwestern suburb. Over there, swatches and odd balls. Fore and aft, graph paper pencils eraser droppings empty water glass stitch markers books and more books. In the middle, me knitting.
The nuns always told me a person's possessions and home are an extension of his mind, and they were damn right. Because my mind feels like this most of the time. A jumble. A rotating bin of lottery balls from which I very occasionally draw a winning combination. More often, I tear up my worthless ticket and scatter the pieces across the mouldering heap.
It's a wonder, honestly, that I ever get anything done at all. I look over my project page on Ravelry sometimes and think, what the hell is the matter with you? I'm all over the place - from dust-colored hats to lime green socks. No coherent aesthetic, just impulsive forays into whatever wilderness looks prettiest when I get up in the morning.
I got an e-mail recently from somebody who said, in effect, you have a lot of nerve blogging on the same Internet as Brooklyn Tweed. More often that not, I am inclined to agree.
But maybe this is my process. Maybe I need chaos in order to create–however haphazardly–a snippet of order here and there. Maybe my style is no style and my palette is no palette. Maybe one day I will achieve the sunlight and the neat lists, or maybe I won't. I'm still new at this, so who can tell?
Meanwhile, I just keep knitting.
Well, I work pretty much the way you do and am quite happy with it. Some things get finished, some don't, and I no longer give a rats. Keep doing what you're doing and enjoy it. And keep blogging. If people don't like it, they don't have to read it.
ReplyDeleteKnitting (or writing) in the midst of chaos? I think that's called life!
ReplyDeleteI am outraged that someone criticized you for not being like brooklyn tweed/jared flood. I read his blog everyday, too. We are all different with different talents. God loves variety. What a hater!
ReplyDeleteI liken it to the primordial ooze. You need to dump all kinds of stuff in, and watch for the good bits that bubble to the top in new and interesting combinations.
ReplyDeleteThere's no right way to do it, either.
Your process works for me. I read your blog for inspiration and comic relief, and you provide both. My process is even more random, and when I occassionally turn out a piece that I love, life is good. Let's make a deal: You continue blogging, and I'll continue to be a fan.
ReplyDeleteDon't let anyone do that to you!! Your process is joyous abandon, and that is wonderous to behold! The ONLY important thing about your process is that it works for you and makes you happy. Nay-sayers are just jealous that they don't have joy in their lives!!
ReplyDeleteFranklin, you sound just like me! What a relief! (Lime green socks sound great, and I have some retina-searing red orange waiting near the front of the queue, but I love gray too.)
ReplyDelete--Elizabeth D
oh, thank you, thank you... you should see my desk, erm house. everytime i see your photos everything looks so neat and tidy and I envy you. This post was comforting.
ReplyDeleteYeah. My process is one of growth... as in whatever I am working on tends to grow across my apartment, and it either pulls itself together and lives, or stays as scattered pieces.
ReplyDeletemy goodness, it makes me so upset to think someone would say that about you and Brooklyn tweed! I read both your and brooklyntweed's blogs and I love what I get out of both of them, what a terrible world it would be if there were only one "correct" knitting blog, how else would I be inspired?
ReplyDeleteComparing your blog to BrooklynTweed is like telling a knitter that they 'knit the wrong way'. However you do it, however you get there, it is right.
ReplyDeleteYou have 2 great passions in your life that you get to enjoy thoroughly every day. Do you really want to be that buttoned-down guy that you were when you were younger? Were you happy then? Or, are you happier now?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying some organization isn't important, like grocery lists, so you don't end up with an unopen bag of corn chips sitting in the pantry with the date 7/2008 on it (go on, ask me how I know this.) However, when it comes to one's creative space, we usually end up with a spot that makes us feel comfortable.
Remember, creativity is NEVER neat. It's always messy. Kinda like childbirth. Very "eww" getting the kid here, but after it's all over with and baby gets a bath, you're pretty happy with the final project.
As for your blog, Jared's doesn't make me laugh like yours does. You and Harlot are my daily dose of smiles. I couldn't knit without either of you. :)
Sunlight and neat lists are overrated. Well, maybe not the sunlight, but the lists definitely are. In fact, your process sounds a lot like mine, except that I'm working on my master's in engineering, so my office is strewn with engineering notes, text books, bits and balls of yarn, needles and hooks I couldn't be bothered to put away, probably some dirty dishes (although I work hard to stay on top of those), and a mass of post-it notes. However soothing a neat, clean space may be initially, in the long run, I find it oppressive. So revel in your chaos and lack of process! As long as it's knitting, there's no wrong way to knit...
ReplyDeleteYour blog always leaves me smiling. You are a gentle soul with a big heart. Each person has their own path, their own process and they all contribute to the whole in one fashion or another. And I think you're pretty terrific just the way you are. :)
ReplyDeletecrekamakesthings says it well. I don't read Jared's blog often, sometimes only to contemplate his new projects and his photographic skills.
ReplyDeleteFranklin, you make me laugh, giggle, snort and often ROFLMAO. Your projects are always interesting to read about.
And that other commenter? I hope she gets shingles and then a house falls on her.
My verification word, so apt, is 'reelly'.
agree with the other commenters and thing that perhaps your process is one of total input. Some people couldn't handle that. They have to have one item to consider at a time. But you, you take it all in. Love the blog.
ReplyDeleteI am over 60 now but still remember being told to clear up my playroom - when the floor was at least six inches deep in assorted debris. "But Muuum, I know where EVERYTHING is, and if I clear up I won't be able to find ANYTHING!"
ReplyDeleteThe only thing changed is the nature of the debris - and I now have a Whole House to clutter up.
It is the sign of an active mind.
I'm willing to bet that Jared Flood wishes he were more like you in some way. I can just picture him beating his Turn-a-Squared head against a wall and crying, "Lime green! Why didn't I consider LIME GREEN?!" I hope he chimes in on this; how could he possibly not read Franklin?
ReplyDeleteAll the cool kids are doing it.
Who cares what they think? Its YOUR blog and YOUR life and way of doing things. Srsly, you rock Franklin, and don't let anyone tell you different!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that your little world is not all order and that you follow your impulses when it comes to knitting. I think there are many of us just like you and there is simply nothing wrong with that! Otherwise, if we were all neat and orderly and tidy, this would be a boring world! There is plenty of room for people like Jared Flood and for people like you, Franklin! Thanks for sharing some of your world with us!
ReplyDeleteProcessors of chaos, unite!
ReplyDeleteWhile I do have a mild Aristotlean obsession with organizing and categorizing, leaving everything in that state for too long gives me hives.
Creativity needs to sprawl. And sometimes have a stiff drink with a chain-smoking sheep.
Well I for one am glad that you are on the same internet as Brooklyn Tweed. The world needs diversity and I enjoy seeing both ends of the spectrum.
ReplyDeleteLook forward in seeing you at Yarns Etc.
Hugs!!!
Your knitting is crazy good stuff, regardless of process or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteAnd how do we know that Jared doesn't have a huge mess in his house that he shoves behind him before shooting those wonderfully spare, sunlit photos? (yeah, he probably doesn't, but we can dream...)
Tracy in Qatar
Brooklyn Tweed? Never heard of it--but then, I'm not a knitter--so I took a look. Yes, it is a lovely site. But here, I get my fix of Dolores, Abigail and quick, biting humor. I love it here!
ReplyDeleteJust keep doing what you're doing. Too much introspection is bad for the creative soul.
ReplyDeleteFranklin we all fell in love with you because of WHO you are, what you do and how you do it. Honestly? I think you would be extremely boring any other way. Please don't try to change and don't grieve over who you aren't. We love you ARE.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to see the "credentials" of anyone who criticizes someone for sharing the internet with someone like Jared Flood. (or no, I don't really give a rat's ass what his/her credentials are. It just doesn't matter.) That is one of the joys of the internet- it lets us all blog together in one space. Levels the playing field, as it were. None of us have to apologize for a thing. If we choose to learn from each other, that's great. If we just want to look at the pretty pictures, that's good too.
ReplyDeleteYour 1000 Knitters book illustrates this perfectly. We're all in this together.
*sings* love you just the way you are *sings*
ReplyDeleteJared does his thing, you do yours. I do envy his tweed stash mind you, and his photos are teh awesome and make me weep tears of searing jealousy, but babes? You can draw. And you make me gigglesnort in the office which is always good. If you want to see a random selection of FO's, go visit my Rav page (I'm KnottyArtisan) - yeah there's part of me that would love all soft-focus, colour-coordinated neatness but bugger it. That's not me. And you should SEE my house...
Franklin.........you are WAY more entertaining than Brooklyn Tweed!!
ReplyDeleteYour workspace sounds a lot like mine. My partner is an artist, not a knitter, so between my hobbies of knitting and collaging, and let's not forget some beading, we have just about every art supply under the sun. I currently can't wait until she gets tired of silk screening so I can have a go at it on some felted pieces.
ReplyDeleteI think of you and Jared as a total yin/yang pair and am totally grateful for you both.
Franklin.........you are WAY more entertaining than Brooklyn Tweed!!
ReplyDeleteWe can't all be Brooklyn Tweeds... (no offense Jared). I love reading both of your blogs because you're so different. However, your process sounds much more like mine.
ReplyDeleteHow in the world does creativity = conformity? Why should you be like Jared? He's no Franklin, and still he has his place, and a good one it is, too. As is yours. As I hope are all of our places!
ReplyDeleteA favorite quote a lay Franciscan friend told me once, knowing that I'm too easily hurt by cruel words:
"Let neither praise nor critisism disturb your soul. We are what we are in God's eyes; nothing more, nothing less." St. Francis of Assisi
brooklyn tweed... never heard of him before. It's you, dear Franklin, that I look forward to reading. You and your alter ego, the sheep. I have never been able to look at sheep quite the same way since you introduced me to Dolores. You give me the sense that even if I'm having trouble with a project, I can get through it. I've enjoyed watching you grow and struggle and become successful doing what you love to do. You are an inspiration to me and I hope to be able to tell you that in person someday.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you and me both. (Except the part about getting up in the morning-- sometimes that doesn't work out for me.)
ReplyDeleteIn the evenings, I sit on the left end of the couch. I can't tell you how many months it's been since the gentleman of the house got to sit on the right end of the couch-- it, like my head, is full of tangles of yarn.
Brooklyn who?
I love any journey you take us on, and my mind (and house) is pretty much unorganized as well. How can something creative spring from order? I don't think so. Keep on, keeping on, Franklin. We're all a-dust like Pigpen in a Peanuts column -- right behind you! Carry on!
ReplyDeleteWow, people can be so rude on the interwebs can't they? It amazes me that someone with your talent ever gets negative comments and/or emails. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteAs for tidiness while working I can offer one solution: get a cat who eats any paper substance, claws anything knitted, and chews on anything vaguely resembling a stick (such as pencils, needles, etc.)
That causes a drastic change in one's environment, believe me! I kinda miss being messy...
Let me quote from Steph's Page a Day calendar, January 18th:
ReplyDelete"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." - A. A. Milne
And, from a cheesy marble paperweight I had in the 80s:
"A cluttered desk is a sign of genius"
So there.
I also sprawl when I create, unlike my much more graphically talented spouse, who maintains a cohesive and modest radius of mess. And we compliment each other beautifully thankyouverymuch.
I think there's one of those Meyer's-Brig's scales when it comes to process vs. product in knitting. I probably fall somewhere around 1/2 way on the process side of things; I *think* I care about my knitting, but then once I'm done with it I give it away willy-nilly and never really mind if the person doesn't wear it above once or twice.
ReplyDeleteI know that I, for one, admire Brooklyn Tweed's photography very much, and I think aspiring knitwear photographers could learn a lot by looking at his work. I know my photography changed once I started following him on Flickr. But his personality doesn't come through much on his blog; he seems a very private person. While you are also private, some of your personality comes through with Dolores and Harry - it's a cover-up, but it gives us glimpses. I like your sense of humor and your introspective moments.
Plus, if YOU shouldn't be on the same internet as Jared Flood, then WTF am I doing here? *shrug* Internet: The Great Leveler.
The only thing wrong with your blog is that there is not enough of it. Darn those paying jobs!
ReplyDeleteI love that beautiful edited spaciousness in theory, and I do keep clutter under control in most of my house, but my craft room is the polar opposite. I've got works in progress out where I won't forget them near my TV chair, and every other surface is an inspirational jumble - books, magazines, craft supplies, postcards, toys. It looks awful but I find it comforting. Work how you like, in short.
ReplyDeleteI'm tempted to say something about (Chinese) pre-Qin thought, looks like you might feel at home with some of those folks :-) (I do!)
ReplyDeleteHey, if you take away the drawing part and add three kids (the oldest is six), you have pretty much described my process!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to comment on the process of toddlers. I don't know about other's children, but mine definitely has a process, an inexorable, methodical destruction of everything he can get his pudgey little fingers on. Pick-up, destroy, on to the next item.
ReplyDeleteAnd no truly creative work can find seed in the spartan neatness of a tidy workspace. Or at least I comfort myself by believing so.
Keep on.
Right now we are selling our house, which is generally tidy and reasonably clean and a bit of a museum of family antiques, except for my "craft room". I apologize to the real estate people, and I honestly did get rid of a pile of yarn at knit night. I tidy it and organize it, and then it goes right back to its happy chaos. I've given up trying to make it look lovely. It isn't. I know where things are. There's room for me to work. There are ideas and projects and yarn and needles and fabric and useful containers and books everywhere, and it's where I am happiest. I think I'll stop apologizing for my little room. It's mine. Nobody else goes into it. Well, sometimes a cat or other. If it's like my mind, then my mind is full of ideas and colours and textures, to overflowing. It sounds like your mind too is overflowing. Good!! I think we'd get along just fine! :) samm
ReplyDeleteYou have an agile mind. That's why you can skip from one project to the other, and have all of them turn out well.
ReplyDeleteWho the hell is Brooklyn Tweed, and why is that person blogging on your Internet?
"...a wreck caused by the collision of two trains–one carrying yarn and the other full of art supplies."
ReplyDeleteYup, that about sums it up. Especially now that I'm "sharing" studio space with a 6-yr.-old who possesses the same magpie gene as her mother (yesterday she came home from the Tucson Gem Show with a complete Chinese calligraphy kit).
Heaven help us.
Some seek process, some seek product. It's a whole different mindset. One's desk is a whole 'nother mindset. When one is processing one has scattered bits and then it coagulates into a neat product. A neat desk is an empty mind.
ReplyDeleteAck! You're not supposed to be Jared and he's not supposed to be you! You are both wonderful, in wonderfully different ways.
ReplyDeleteProcess or Product really shouldn't be the issue. Artists must create, however we do it ... rules and order or chaos, it really doesn't matter.
(Of course, you realize I'm all over the map, too!)
hmph. why can't you just knit because you like it? why must you fit someone else's idea of what a knitter is?
ReplyDeletejeez. if i held myself to the same standards as someone like brooklyn tweed, or anne hanson (knit spot), i'd end up sitting in a corner drooling on myself.
Heh. I find that when I'm orderly, I have no room for creativity (or relaxation for that matter). In fact, putting things in order is usually my avoidance behavior while trying to solve a problem.
ReplyDeleteHeck all of life is a process and although there is no denying some ways we travel through it may appear easier, better, faster, they are all ways to travel through it. I say you are knitting for all the right reasons and I love your blog...
ReplyDeleteI don't usually comment, but I just have to say.... whomever sent you that email has a lot of nerve themselves! Why should you do the same thing that Brooklyn Tweed does? He's amazing, don't get me wrong, but the internet already HAS him. The internet doesn't need more Jared, it needs variety! (And in my opinion, a "coherent aesthetic" is often - though not always - used as an excuse for lack of creativity.) And you make me laugh.
ReplyDeletei knit to escape from the chaos that is my life (work, dishes, laundry, litter box, a floor with god knows what stuck to it, dust an inch thick...)
ReplyDeleteIf a cluttered desk (knitting basket?) is the sign of a cluttered mind, then what do you think and empty desk signifies?
ReplyDeleteOh, thank heaven I'm not alone. I don't feel at all confident that my finished products have a coherent 'vision' and I never show up at the yarn store to show off what I just made. I just love doin' it. So far I've resisted the urge to even start my own blog about my knitting since I want the time to knit (I still work full-time at dull stuff and commute two hours a day (without being able to knit).
ReplyDeleteBe yerse'f, Franklin. We love ya!
Apples and oranges. We all are. Value judgements are for people with low self-esteem. Keep going as you are. I love your *process*, knitting, cartoons, observations...
ReplyDeleteGee, I don't think there is a knitter out there with a nice and well-organized space like you described. I think most of us are the seat-of-the-pants type of knitters. Heck! I am nearly done with the second of a pair of socks and I canNOT find the first, completed sock. I know it's here somewhere...
ReplyDeleteThere's very little left to say, except that yours is my favorite blog. You have an incomparable sense of humor, I'm always interested in your knitting, and I've learned from you.
ReplyDeleteUm.
ReplyDeleteAck-SQUEEZE me?
With all due respect to Brooklyn Tweed - the guy does some very nice design work and he takes a pretty picture, but as a blogger he is not to be named in a day with you, my friend. Anybody who wants you to be more like him - and who is graceless and clueless enough to say so - is totally a Not-Done Ant.
As for process and surroundings, in the past few years my own working environment has degenerated from "opulent squalor" to "squalor not so much with the opulent," so I'm totally on board with the chaos-denoting-genius schtick.
Jared is a wonderful knitter, and certainly has a clear aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteHe does not have your wicked wit, drawing ability, magnificent grasp of English language and composition, or marvelous knowledge of Victorian literature and culture.
My confirmation word is "Priongra," which seems to me would have been a lovely title for a sequel to "Omphalos" had there been one.
Have to agree with most of the other comments. You do your thing and Jared does his thing. You are both great at what you do. I find both of you inspiring. However...yours is the blog I check almost daily. Not only because of Delores and Harry, but also because I enjoy hearing how things are going for you and your views of the world and this crafty art we all share. Keep up the good work. Take care - Joe, in Wyoming
ReplyDeleteThank goodness, someone eldr who works exactly the way I work!
ReplyDeleteBeing able to frame up a shot in the viewfinder, omitting the background clutter, is a blessing.
My verification word is "tomest".
Who the hell gave anyone the right to judge you?! Even if you have the aesthetic taste of a dung beetle you have a right to blog, write or whatever. So long as you aren't morally evil of course. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, now that's out of my system, what is the point of this post? Are you justifying your process? Or providing an education to the schmoes who judge?
Ah me. Like all good art, my response says more about me that it really does about the piece. I worry about being judged. I tend to justify myself when it's not called for. And look how quickly I jump to your defense. I should jump more quickly to my own.
Thank you Franklin. What a great artist you are.
Why on earth would anyone want two brooklyntweeds?
ReplyDeleteYOu're your lovely self and so is he, thank goodness for individuality.
What a lovely post, and inspirational to those of us who find it comforting to be surrounded by the things we love. Even if those things aren't neatly arranged.
ReplyDeletep.s. The person who sent that email needs a good firm smack upside the head.
Smiles and nods in agreement.
ReplyDeleteUm, whatever...that stole sure looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThere were 69 comments when I started reading, but I just had to add mine...even though the total comments is my lucky number.
ReplyDeleteI love how you describe your process. It felt very right. Not for me, although parts of it resonated...just right.
Thanks for attempting to clarify the unclear in such a compelling way.
Brooklyntweed's blog is far more intellectual than yours. Yours can be intellectual, but it can also be thoroughly emotional, and frequently delightfully ridiculous. Your blogging can be as scattered as your creative process, and I understand that far, far better than his neat organization!
ReplyDeleteI say you should sic Delores on whoever was rude enough to say such mean things to you! And I suspect even Harry might rise to the occasion in defending you, even though he's generally a sweet, innocent, mild-mannered ball of yarn. As for me, I just wish on them permanently tangled yarn for the rest of their knitting life!
I work like you. And I don't call it a process; I call it creativity. So there. As for Brooklyn Tweed, the internets are a broad place. Room for all. That's the point, doh! If anyone doesn't like your blog they can chuff off and read another one.
ReplyDeleteI am astonished that someone would judge you so harshly. But I am often astonished by those types of people in life in general. Since when is there a blog "standard" of excellence in knitting blogs? That's like saying black pepper is soooo much better than cinnamon. Why would you do that. Taste's and personalities differ. Boggles my mind. Franklin, you have brought joy and humor and inspiration to countless people through your blog and now through your book. That is huge in my book, with a world filled with anxiety, uncertainty and judgmental people. I think that is a pretty damn awesome thing. We need more of that, not less. Don't let them get you down.
ReplyDeleteI love your comment from the nuns, though it perhaps worries me for myself. Salty floors, scattered papers, strewn about yarn. I love pretty yarn pictures, but I know I am not one to always take them and have pretty FO. I've got a life, and I've got lots of patients and classes and stuff to knit and laundry and plants to water, and it gets away from me!
ReplyDeleteSo what I'm saying is I love your blog and everything about it, because it's a bit scattered and eclectic, and somehow exotic, even though you are the blogger closest to me that I read. Perhaps because I can't come up with the right word tells you how unique and wonderful you are!
Oh, for wool's sake! I can't believe anyone is so lacking for a life as to take you to task for not being like BT. You just keep doing what you want, as you want, and we'll come along for the ride.
ReplyDeletePoint me to your critics and I'll rough them up, unravel them, shrink them into felt... etc...
ReplyDeleteYour blog is wonderful. To the person who dared make you feel less than BT (even if in your humble opinion you might think that terribly rude individual could have an iota of an idea) I say this, if we all monkeyed BT then BT wouldn't be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteViva la differance! (My apologies to the French for that slaughter of their language.)
And, Viva la Franklin!
I like what you write and I'll bet you do, too. keep up the good work. You are very entertaining and my opinion is the only one that counts. (To me anyway.)
ReplyDeleteI too find the mean email offensive and just strange. Don't these people have anything else to do? Go knit something! Or have a cocktail!
ReplyDeleteOh yes - delurking because I wanted to tell you that I enjoy your blog and all your beautiful work (whatever the process may be) so much! I also bought your book and am so glad I did.
Thank you!
I almost wish this was a thread on Ravelry, just so I could click love and agree buttons on all the lovely comments.
ReplyDeleteI'm a new reader of your blog, and I wanted to share that I found this post immensely encouraging....not only for acknowledging the "process" or lack thereof for my knitting, but also for my job (writing a dissertation). It's been a brutally long day at that, and this was the encouragement and spice that I need. Thank you for having the courage to be yourself and to show that all creativity--whether found in an outline or in chaos--is a leap into the unknown.
ReplyDeleteI think the best ideas come in that flash of inspiration that comes as you think you've lost your last marble, and you're searching for it on your hands and knees. It's usually then that I get that awesome "why is it that way, and why can't I do it my way, this way" (visuals of knitting appearing magically from needles) thought.
ReplyDeleteYour process is your own. Embrace it, and try to throw out anyone else's opinion of how you SHOULD do something, unless you think it might be neat to try.
Brooklyn Tweed usually posts when he's finished something; and you usually post when you're thinking about something; and you both take superb photographs.
ReplyDeleteBoth are interesting, but I'm always more fascinated at the starting (and false-starting) end of things; and the trials, tribulations and madnesses on the way...
the Real Simple TV show gives me the creeps. They're so perky and organized. Ugh! Not in my space, thanks anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I admire Brooklyn Tweed for the artfulness of it all, it's not the only way to be creative, thank God.
So add my vote to your side - here's to fertile chaos.
Meh. I lerv you just the way you be.
ReplyDeleteYes to the collision of yarn and art supplies. Add to that mix - toys, books, the work in progress laundry, sparkly dress ups and musical instruments with their accompanying music - and you will have the melange that is my mind and home. I have long since given up trying to make it look like a magazine photo. If I had the technology, I would send you a picture of my dining room, just to cheer you up about how organized you are. Relax and enjoy. You only live once.
ReplyDeleteif you look at my ravelry notebook (phillygirl9654), I am all over the map too.
ReplyDeleteso what, who cares, whatever, nevermind (snuck a little nirvana in there [hee hee]), I knit to please myself and no one else.
keep on with your bad self, you cutie! smooches!
Jared Flood is some wonderful form of deity.
ReplyDeleteAnd so, my dear scatter-brained friend, are you.
Good grief, did someone actually say you have some nerve to post on the same Internet as brooklyntweed? You are both talented and excellent, and I'm a fan of you both, and seriously? Somebody went there? Why? It's so mean and arbitrary and--dude. Just, that ain't right.
ReplyDeleteIn my mind, I've always envisioned the artist's studio as glorious, beautiful chaos. Chaos, because of the amount of energy and art supplies hapazardly organized around the room; and glorious beauty from the tubes of paint, fabric swatches, dye bottles, or other medium and the works in progress scattered about.
ReplyDeleteTrust the process. It's yours, and it works.
I love you AND Brooklyn Tweed. So please just continue as you are!
ReplyDelete*shrugs* I just think you're cool and gracious and generous. It's enough for me that you share at all.
ReplyDeleteUm...
ReplyDelete1. That is a gorgeous photo
2. Send me that person's email. You are just as deserving of readership as Jared and I adore you both.
3. Has Dolores broken her probation yet?
I say poo to that humbug who compared you poorly to Brooklyn Tweed. My world -- and the internet -- is certainly big enough for both of you to coexist happily. You each have something unique to offer, and I appreciate both of you. (And especially you, to be perfectly candid. I prefer people with the occasional wart or bit of salt. Perfection = boring. And definitely not real. I like reality.)
ReplyDeleteWow...I have never commented here before, but have been reading you for over a year and love your blog. What an incendiary e-mail! Probably this doesn't need to be said (when has that ever stopped us before?) but obviously BT has his own "process" too, he just takes extreme care to only ever show the beautifully finished product...
ReplyDeleteThe nuns were wrong, actually.
ReplyDeleteThe way that you can tell what the inside of a person's head looks like is to see how they've set up their computer.
You can actually see how their thought process works - orderly, disorderly, utter chaos. It's terrifying.
If I were doing any actual designing rather than just knitting a pattern, I imagine that I would have a lot of "inspiration" around me. It's not mess, Franklin. It's inspiration.
Since I'm just churning out someone else's pattern, there is very little mess. Someone else has already done that part for me.
I cannot imagine even thinking such a mean and narrow-minded judgment, let alone saying it out loud. (so to speak.) I enjoy your work tremendously, and no small part of it is that you are always surprising me. You think things and try things that would never occur to me. That's why your blog is so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could meet the person who invented this " process " and " project " stuff. I would invite them to a nice coffee house ( because I'd be afraid that in a less public place, I'd put my hands around their neck and squeeze really tight )....and then I'd give them a piece of my mind....a very big piece.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those knitters who usually knits one project at a time until it's finished. If at any moment of the project I realize that I don't like it, I rip it and start another one.
I dream of new projects ( literally and figuratively ), I plan on colors, plan on yarn, order the yarn, wait for it, anticipate the whole ( do I dare to say it ? ) " process "...then once I have the yarn, after copious fondling I knit swatches, often several , then I ask the swatches what they would like to be and I listen very carefully.
It also happens that I fall in love with just a pattern and then after finding the right yarn and after swatching I start knitting passionately...in love with my new project.
So I knit my item, garment or shawl and often I knit for quite a while...mostly enjoying ( here's that word again ) the " process ".
I finish stuff, I block, sew together, steam...whatever is necessary and then I either wear the item proudly or give it away to hopefully be proudly worn by someones else......if that is not " process " knitting I don't know what is....yet, I hear over and over " what no WIPs, you finish your stuff, you must be one of those project knitters who really just want stuff and don't care so much about the process " !
I would always like to ask them, where is the " process " of having 3 dozen unfinished items loitering about ?
Rant over......and I do like your blog as is, except lately it's a bit infrequent....
Droelma Mexico City
Yea
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with doing that way?
It drives the more organized people crazy, but it's your knitting, no one else's. Plus you make lovely lovely pieces.
I really like Jared's work and I really like yours. I'm surprised that anyone would compare you unfavorably to him.
Margie in Maryland
Franklin, I think one of the things that's easy for people to forget (or take for granted) about blogging is that it's a very textual medium. Even if you're blogging about knitting, it's ultimately a written product that we receive. (OK, and pictures!) I would read and enjoy your blog even if you did nothing but cast on seed stitch hats in grey acrylic and then rip them out again. Your knitting is great, and inspiring, but it's your writing that brings it to me. I've seen blogs by people who may well be better knitters than you (who am I to judge?) but are much worse bloggers, because they couldn't bring the knitting to life for me and surround it as you do with ideas and thought processes and vivid connections and delightful stories and embellishments. Jared has a great blog of a different sort, and (without knowing the details of your email critic's complaint) it seems to me that comparing you two, especially to anyone's disadvantage, is as pointless and silly as comparing pomegranates and merino.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the word verification for this comment was "purlism" which I think is just great!
i am always amazed that people feel free to be be rude in email and comments. would they be rude live and in person?
ReplyDeletewe are all who we are. not someone else. i think happiness comes when one makes an effort to be who one truly is, not someone else.
continue being who you are. nobody else does it better.
So someone actually wrote that about blogging in the same.....totally rude. Totally. If they don't like being here, just go where you're happy and leave. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteAppallingly rude.
I like Jared's blog. He does some enviable knits and takes beautiful pictures. His photos have the kind of aesthetic you referred to, spare, serene, soft light over yonder window breaks, etc.. Course, he doesn't show us his workspace, either. So who knows.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. It has humor and thoughtfulness, and sometimes rage, and also beautiful knitting and photos of same. You're a writer and artist and knitter and so much else.
It's a sad aspect of the internet that many people, who you'd most certainly ignore if you were to meet face to face, have a voice to say nasty things anonymously.
Maureen
Oh, and may I compliment your blog that the little word verification thing is actually readable. I've seen some where I just gave up trying to comment after several unsuccessful attempts to decipher the warped characters.
Beautiful photo of lace-in-progress. Keep on rockin' on.
ReplyDeleteFranklin, whoever it was that wrote that you shouldn't be blogging needs a visit from Dolores. She'll straighten them right up!!! Please don't stop blogging - the rest of us really enjoy reading...
ReplyDeleteI think the greatest thing about knitting is the way it works for anyone who loves it. Creativity itself is by definition characterized by originality. Thank you for your chaos.
ReplyDeleteAs Sappho said, "Life is short and very fragile. Do that which makes you happy."
ReplyDeleteViva la FH.
ReplyDeleteIf liking your blog is wrong I don't want to be right.
II is on it's way to me. Yay.
You got it! Just keep knitting and writing
ReplyDeleteBT just don't make me larf like you do :) Rock on!
ReplyDeleteJust aim me at the person who dissed you. I am an inter-mitten-tly [just noticed again how wonderful English can be] cranky middle-aged woman who is temporarily out of chocolate. I will knit that person a cease and desist order.
ReplyDeleteMy "process" is a lot like yours. I have been knitting for nearly 50 years, and *I'm* not brooklyntweed, either; but I have a Kaffe-inspired coat with "my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle" knitted into the hem, and I bet that would never have occurred to either of you!
And he probably wouldn't have been adopted by Delores and Harry, although I think I was in a fair way of *becoming* Delores in my younger days.
You seem to do a grand job of being Franklin, and I for one am glad to have found you and your blog. Next payday, I plan to reward myself for five months of fiscal responsibility with the pleasure of buying your book.
And now if you will excuse me, I have to go frog "Morningside" for the fifth time in four days. Mr. Rogers wants to know if you can say "operator error"?
As Dolores would say, "You can't make a frozen daiquiri without turning on the blender."
ReplyDeleteSo your creative process is much like Dolores turning on the blender. So what?
Just remember to put the lid on the blender before you turn it on.
Sweetie, it's still a process. Even if it is entropy-driven. xo
ReplyDeleteHey, Franklin - isn't it amazing how one can still hear those nagging, nasty little voices inside that one would SWEAR was finally gotten rid of through yoga, therapy, the maturation process - whatever - and the minute one person who has nothing better to do takes his or her internal pain and decides to dump it onto us, one allows this moron to determine who and what on is? Or worse - causes one to question everything.
ReplyDeleteAs one of my many brilliant daughters says, " I call Bullshit on that!"
Are you joking? How dare Jared blog on the same internet at YOU?
ReplyDeleteOnly kidding - I love his blog and his knitting, just as I do yours, but for very different reasons. What I really want to know is how dare someone be so rude to someone as truly fab, kind and funny as you.
I really liked the way you wrote this post. I enjoy your blog thanks.
ReplyDeleteI laugh in the face of your chaos! I will see your train wreck and raise you a midden. I try to be organised but those damned knitting supplies distract me at every turn. And even if I could contain myself I would be defeated on a daily basis by three young daughters who seem to have the innate ability to just not see mess. It would be a foolish waste of knitting time to try and tidy the house before they leave home. In the meantime I will continue to blame the mess on lack of storage.
ReplyDeleteWow, certainly this generated a lot of comments in your defense.
ReplyDeleteBy 2c. are that as much as I would love to live a BT type stylized life, it's not me. Jared knits, designs, and photographs beautifully and there is much to learn from him.
However, I come here because while sometimes I need to be visually feed with the BT stuff, I need laughter a lot more.
Jared's writing has never made me laugh out loud while this blog makes me laugh and smile. These days, I find that the mood elevating effect of your writing is a lot more important. Sometimes it is thought provoking and serious but more often than not I'm smiling a little more because of this site.
Thanks for all the laughs!
I love your blog. How insensitive are some folk. Keep going.
ReplyDeleteI read your blog because I enjoy your sense of humor and am inspired by the creativity in everything you share.
ReplyDeleteI really have to wonder what people who make, "If you're not X person, you're not worthy" comments are thinking.
ReplyDeleteIn the words of CSNY, you are what you are! We come here to read because we like that you are you. Not many people are willing to share their witty sense of humor and crazy non-process-process with the internet at large.
And as for chaos? You should see my room.
But do you like the lime green socks and dust colored hats? Then that's all that's important. I admire jared's designs but he's no franklin habit.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is way cooler than BT's. And you're way cuter, too!
ReplyDeleteCoherent aesthestic? How can you have a coherent aesthetic and still try everything? And have fun? I like your method!
ReplyDeleteGod, I'm just like you---I "sprawl" and scatter all my knitting stuff, and I don't have a "process" (just look at the Joker's Wild cardigan for proof--HEH!) And I was taught by nuns, too, even though I'm a Southern Baptist--no wonder I'm messed up in the head!....(not that I'm saying YOU are, you understand!) (It's just that the nuns were mean to me because they thought I needed "correcting"...oh never mind...)
ReplyDelete(I know, I know, I use dot-dot-dots too much...)
Franklin! Don't you dare pay any attention to that critical person who "compared" you. Most of us read several knitting blogs for inspiration. I read you and Stephanie, yes, but I read Jared and the Rainey sisters, too - among others. Why not? It's all good in the knitting world. For the record, I sit in my recliner to knit, like Jaba the Hut, surrounded by the chaos of my yarn and projects. My place would never be like the "ideal" one you describe and really I wouldn't want it to. I'd never be able to find anything again! Peace and love, Franklin. Mmuah.
ReplyDeleteI have this gorgeous old antique-y picture frame which holds a blackboard on my living room wall, of all places! On it, written in pink chalk, is "Letting Go" and then a (d) on the end because, as a believer, I feel that I've got to make room for God. Anyhow, the point is: I am letting go of all the junk, both physical and emotional, that gets in my way and keeps me from being who I am meant to be. It was so very, very nice to read about your "process" because it's so much like me. My whole life has been spent feeling somehow inferior because my house wasn't neat or my kids were always filthy from playing in the dirt or *gasp* I never seemed to finish a knitting project but, instead, flit from WIP to WIP, soaking up what I "need" from each one. It's much better than me whipping out something just to have more pictures on my Projects page! If you could see into my head, Franklin, you would see hundreds of FO's that I've completed. It's so much fun "knitting in my head" because everything gets finished and it's beautiful. Sometimes, that's all I need, ya know?
ReplyDeleteFranklin, I love your blog and love your writing style. I wish you were my brother so you could come by, sit on the couch (after moving about 20 knitting books) and share a cup of tea. You'd "get me," I'm sure of it.
Have a super Friday and a fun Valentine's Day!
If I thought about creating a "coherent aesthestic" with my knitting projects, I'd be frozen by indecision and never knit again.
ReplyDeleteOn the "Real Simple" jag ... Clean lines and wonderful lighting and the feeling of peace & joy that comes from this? You caught all that in the photo of your shawl in progress. Looking at the photo induces bliss. And calm.
Love your blog, your knitting, your book. Please continue being your own wonderful self.
In the midst of chaos you took the most beautiful fiber picture I've ever laid eyes on. I could meditate on that picture. I've had a hellish couple of weeks, and honestly, staring at that image has brought me an elusive, albeit brief, moment of calm.
ReplyDeleteYou may not always be the 'you' you wish you were, but I feel blessed by your sharing your gifts with us.
ps my verification word is doxyzume; does Deloris make these up? If anyone personifies doxie zoom, it's her!
/Scott
Madness, or at least a cluttered mind and workspace is almost a scientific fact... or at least a badge of honor. Some folks just feel the need to spread a little superiority around, which you are totally not required to care about.
ReplyDeleteI'm inspired by you for many reasons, most of them small and endearing, some of them tall with awe.
Oh, Franklin...everyone's made differently, yes? Some people (my son, for one; I have had much experience observing his process) work best surrounded by what looks like a heap of mess and chaos to other people. I don't know how they do it, but it works for them. Stick to it! Thanks for sharing with us...
ReplyDeleteExplosions of material and of the mind and create process produce wonderful things.
ReplyDeleteIt's like getting ready to make a speech about a new subject. Learn all you can, "forget" it, and just open your mouth.
And "mistakes" lead to new discoveries. I know it's true in science and dancing and knitting...and life.
=^..^=
Let Brooklyn Tweed be Brooklyn Tweed. Let you be you. Both of you are incredibly talented in very different ways and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If chaos is your inspiration, then so be it.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, that image in the middle of today's post? Gorgeous. Just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThe people who have those spartan studios and craft rooms are to be pitied. Without color and disarray there can be no creativity, in my opinion. The road to inspiration is paved with the detrius of everyday living. Accept this and you will find artistic fulfillment on your own terms.
ReplyDeleteMy 4 year old told me last night as I was tucking her back into bed, "If we were all the same, we'd be bored." Everyone has their own work style, their own blogging style, their own whatever style. Your style is your own and you should celebrate it.
ReplyDeleteI really can't believe that someone said that to you. Good Grief! I love your style, it's just like mine, a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
ReplyDeleteIt's whatever makes ya happy, and if you're happy then we are too!
Ysolda Teague once showed her studio as it was, instead of clearing it away first before taking the photos.....it was a reassuring experience because, despite what I know of human nature, my self-esteem sometimes tricks me into thinking I am the only one who lives like that.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't read blogs to see my own life, I read them to see the fantasy I've created of others' lives. So for the most part their clean desks work for me.
Carry on.
I'm outraged that someone would judge some bloggers 'worthy' of blogging (though I love Brooklyntweed and often read it, and am awed by his creations) and others not! I often read your blog and go away inspired. I'm quite chaotic myself, but even if I were one of the organised, perfectionist people, wouldn't it be dull if we were all the same? Please keep sharing your thoughts and creations, I would really miss them if you stopped!
ReplyDeleteI always think it's funny when I get nasty comments on my blog. Come to think of it, I haven't gotten any hate mail recently. Makes me think I'm falling down at my job.
ReplyDeleteIf you can inspire passion in your readers, then you know you're doing it right. Even if it's the kind of passion that leads people to hump your leg in public, or post comments filled with invective.
If my "mouldering piles" looked like yours I'd die a happy man.
ReplyDeleteHmmm......I was under the impression that you wrote about your process all of the time. I don't know what I was thinking.
ReplyDeleteAs a close British friend of mine says, "Bullocks!! and get on with your knitting"
I just got your book and LOVE it!
Thanks, David
Following other bloggers' leads, I posted a pictorial "year in review" at the end of December. Wow, was that a jumble of colours, styles, and aesthetics... I was seriously looking forward to getting more work done on the "sewing with a plan" contest I'm in, so I'd at least have one set of FOs that harmonized.
ReplyDeleteThe only time my place is neat is when I lose my mojo. Looking at it right now, I've had some pretty high mojo for a while ;). It was actually Jane Brocket from yarnstorm that got me believing I could blog - she was an expert at the close-up shot!
Real Simple Magazine has a lot to answer for, don't they? No one's life looks like that- There has to be room somewhere for skeletons and clutter and knitting and art supplies and.....
ReplyDeleteFranklin, did you ever watch Mr. Rogers when you were a kid? Because every single episode he said, "People can love you just the way you are!" And people do! Blog how you want to blog.
ReplyDeleteAnd with all due respect to Mr. Flood, I have a lot more fun reading your blog than his and have a way bigger crush on you than on him.
Yippee! That's what my life feels like too, only you describe it better than I could! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteAnd me, I love your blog. Thanks again.
How horrible that you have to put up with such rude emails. It is they who have the nerve. Let us gloat upon the bad karma they are accumulating in order to return as a cockroach.
ReplyDeleteDid you knit all of your stuff to be worn at one time? If you did not, then what is the big deal if you knit a hat for sleeping in, then a sweater for Abigail and then a scarf for you, and a shawl for your Grandmother. Oh, gee, the shawl for Grandma and the mittens for Abigail are not color coordinated...well, they probably don't wear them together all that often, so not a real big deal. You have knit heirloom quality pieces, and practical day to day Tomtens...UGH, I would hate to hear what others would say about the stuff I knit. Pale blue alpaca, and then inexpensive brown cotton-acrylic... C'est la vie.
ReplyDeleteI operate like this most of the time until I can't deal with it anymore and then I pack up tons of projects and other odds and ends and put them away in a drawer or something where I will stumble upon them later and go, huh, where did I leave my notes on...
ReplyDeleteI still care about getting things done, but mostly that is because I get annoyed at all of the projects I have that are nearly at completion (like one pocket to knit for a vest).
I agree with Dawn S. from Texas.
ReplyDeleteTHERE ARE NO KNITTING POLICE...please write that 100 times on the blackboard...better yet make one of those sweaters in the new MasonDixon book and use that for the quotation on it...
ReplyDeleteSeriously...ain's America grand that we don't have to limit ourselves to one style of knitting, blogger, tv, sport, radio, book, etc.???
Is it a hoot that the verification word is messe?
couple of my favorite buddhist quotes: "every step you take is on the path" and "success and failure ARE your journey."
ReplyDeletestill love you. still miss you. still here.
xoxo
I just had a revelation about the whole process vs. product debate on my blog. At first I thought the whole idea was silly because if you didn't like the process, you wouldn't be knitting, right? But I realized that I am most definitely a product knitter. I have to have an end result or goal in mind when I start knitting or else. It could be a sweater, a technique or a new stitch pattern but there always has to be a beginning, a middle and an end because part of the joy is (hopefully) admiring my handiwork when it is done.
ReplyDeleteDarlin' - I don't give a rat's arse about process (which I'm sure is fine as it's *your* process). I like reading how you think about your project, the colors you choose, the beautiful photos you post about them, the people you meet, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd you often turn out projects that, honestly, nearly push me into panic attacks (knitted lace and written phrases knitted into the project? *I feel woozy again*).
And as for that brooklyn tweed remark that was sent to you, I'm giving it the one-finger salute of rudeness. We need all kinds of talents in this world, and I'm certainly grateful you're there posting your talents.
I don't even know who Brooklyn Tweed is (or what.) you are an absolute gem. I'm sure others wrote this, but I haven't time to read all the comments.. I work the same way, and mostly try to create around Momming, and working outside the home and whatever.. My personal family motto is "Love me warts and all or get "@#$^ed" I think that should pretty much sum up the feeling I have for your dissenting commentator..
ReplyDeleteYou have every right to post on the same internet as Brooklyn Tweed! And I'm ever so glad you do. I'd miss you more if you were gone... you bring such joy to my blog reading. If only because I now know that witty and prolific knitters of wonderful stuff have processes that look like mine. Now I know that the fact that I have an alarming swack of projects with nothing in common doesn't mean I'm a hopeless idiot... it's a sign of a creative mind roaming freely.
ReplyDeleteAnd though I'd planned to NOT do this to you -- this post tells me I need to nomintate you for the Kreativ Blogger award. (see my blog for details; and feel free to rest on your laurels).
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOK, the girl from long island has to finally come out of lurking and chime in. I'm sure that Leonardo Da Vinci's mom was constantly telling him to clean up his room and put away his sandals. I realized recently that I'm a process knitter. I get very little joy our of completed items. So I have many things in my queue, unstarted, unfinished, unblocked, unseamed. It's all ok, because when it is all over and done let them say, "She loved to try everything". Please never change - unless you feel it would make you happier.
ReplyDeleteMy process is similar to yours as well. I'm in the middle of trying to organize a couple of rooms in my house for specific crafts, but am waiting for my husband to clear the room in the basement out first.
ReplyDeleteAs for the comment in regards to you and Brooklyn Tweed, I think it was very rude and mean. I love reading both blogs for different reasons. But, I check yours more often to be inspired. The antics of Dolores and Harry, the photos and stories are all wonderful. Thanks to your pictures of your cruises and trips, I was able to see parts of the world I have never been to.
Keep picking projects and colors that appeal to YOU. It's the diversity of knitters that bonds us together. I might not care for a color you pick, but discover a new to me pattern. I can take that bit of inspiration and knit it in my color choice that you may not like.
"Coherent aesthetic" sounds very confining to me. A couple of years ago I thought that maybe if I tried to make lots of things in purple, eventually my wardrobe would coordinate (i.e. I'd have an "outfit"). It's starting to happen. That's the closest I come to a coherent aesthetic, and I don't stick to it.
ReplyDeleteWhew!! Delurking because I, too, thought All Those Other Creative People had spaces of spacious and gracious emptiness with only one or two projects on the go. Guess I'm not so crazy after all and maybe I'm more creative than I thought!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSimply put, rules and boxes don't apply to people with lives. Keep up the great job you've been doing and never mind the inflexible people out there who are incapable of going outside their self-imposed rigid cages. We may be on the outside but seems to me, we're the ones having fun so it stands to reason that they don't count, yes? We love you for who you are and for selflessly sharing some of your life with us...
ReplyDeleteWell now, that wasn't very nice of that reader. How negative to suggest that only the big producers of FO's can have blogspace and readers.
ReplyDeleteYou keep on doing things your own way. I think you will! Your writing skills and knits and cartoons are great.
I'm wondering if I can make it through all the nice comments above while still thinking of the Dolores' Valentine's posting without ROFL -- I don't think I'll ever think about "orange" again in a sane way.
ReplyDeleteKeep on YOUR journey, and we'll all count our blessings to be your fans.
Who the hell is Brooklyn Tweed? I (clearly) am new to knitting...working on my first fugly potholder, to be exact! But I got the itch to knit because of your blog. Your writing is engaging and your passion shines through. That's what makes me want to become a knitter just like Franklin when I grow up!
ReplyDeleteIsn't art really all about the process??!! It's all good... clear or muddled.
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