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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Something to aspire to | 2KCBWDAY6

Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackle in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft?

The column on the left of this page is the Knit List: the catalog of knitting skills I've already tried (dare I say, mastered), the ones I have yet to attempt, and other fun stuff to accomplish (knitting in public, using recycled yarn, etc.).  BUT (I like big buts and I cannot lie) there is one item that I feel sure will never, ever, evereverevereverever be completed.

S · T · E · E · K · I · N · G

NO.  Never.  No.

"Steek" rhymes with "Eek!" and I can't think that's a coincidence.  It has 80% of its letters in common with "Steak," but while the latter fills me with meaty goodness, the former fills me with dread.  Eunny Jang dedicated seven full blog posts to the subject.  In Knitting Without Tears, Elizabeth Zimmermann suggests that one "lie down in a darkened room for fifteen minutes to recover" (p61) after cutting armholes for the first time.  Wendy Johnson calls cutting "the fun part" in her Knitty feature "You want me to cut WHAT?"; I'm inclined never to trust her again... even if she does indicate a "celebratory margarita" as the proper way to observe the occasion.

Clearly, this is scary business.  And I haven't the stomach for it.

No steeks here.  Oh heck no.
This tulip cardigan was knit flat, as written in the pattern, and it wasn't difficult.  Do people not like purling that much?

The most obvious reason for my steek strike is my love of superwash merino.  In fact, a bad experience with felting (maybe maybe I'll write about it sometime, if I'm ever feeling especially masochistic) has led me away from most yarns that lend themselves to this sort of thing.

What it really comes down to is this: I can enjoy a libation and a lie-down without experiencing sheer terror beforehand, thankyouverymuch.  Life's scary enough as it is without bring renegade scissors into it.
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10 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 2, 2011 at 8:34 AM

    I kind of feel the same way you do but I think if I had the right project done with the right yarn I would give steeking a try.

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  2. AnonymousApril 2, 2011 at 10:04 AM

    I've made steeking a goal for 2011, but I'm scared at just the idea. I completely commiserate

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  3. AnonymousApril 2, 2011 at 10:21 AM

    I hate pearling Idk why just do. And eek lol steeking seems awful

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  4. josiekittenApril 2, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    Steeking seems to be a commone theme in today's posts!!

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  5. Gracey is not my name....April 2, 2011 at 1:03 PM

    I love that sweater and I'm no where near skilled enough to steek and not sure I'd ever want to...

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  6. AnonymousApril 2, 2011 at 6:13 PM

    I watched a video on steeking and I sat wide-mouthed an horrified the whole time :)

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  7. StefanieApril 2, 2011 at 6:45 PM

    Susan B. Anderson learned how to steek via the Internet and referenced this video which I found very easy to understand and if I had to steek one day, I'd do it like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs6Kw6wGnNk

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  8. tishkaApril 2, 2011 at 7:42 PM

    Im so with you on that. I believe there is a saying about steeking,
    the most unkindest cut of all..lol

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  9. ACApril 2, 2011 at 9:55 PM

    I wrote about steeking as something fearful for blog week last year...why in the hell would you even want to try? Ugh.

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  10. ACApril 2, 2011 at 9:57 PM

    For some reason that comment sounds like a non-english speaker wrote it...I'm trying to say steeking sucks.

    ReplyDelete