I am not a woman who enjoys process. I am a writer who does not enjoy writing. I can find innumerable ways to avoid it. But, to rip off Dorothy Parker, nothing else--nothing--gives me the same thrill as having written.She talked about it too in her interview, and if I were a more intrepid reporter, I would have dug a little deeper into her psyche: "I cross-stitch as well and know how you can find yourself fixated on a project that you just have to buy, stitch and frame--and that you can't really rest until it's done."
I'm the same way with knitting. The process is fine, mind you, and keeps my hands busy. But nothing else--nothing--gives me the rush that I get from finishing something.
I thought I just wasn't very dedicated because I can't really name anything I am working on that "I can't really rest until it's done." I hadn't really thought of it before Adrienne gave a name to it, but I am completely a process stitcher. 100%. End up with a finished project or don't, I'm in it for the stitching. In fact, before I put up the stairway gallery, I had framed pieces that were just sitting in a pile. I do this thing to give my hands something to do. And while I'm working, the extra part of my brain is engaged in something that is not worrying, fretting, or crazy. Maybe I have ADD, and I control it by stitching.
There are occasionally projects that I don't love stitching, but those are usually things I've picked specifically to fit someone else's personality. I'm stitching for the love of the person. Anj gave this a name the other day; she said she was a gift knitter. It could be that I am a gift stitcher.
I won't ruin the end of the book for you, but suffice to say that Adrienne learns that she might be a process knitter after all. Welcome to the dark side, doll.
9 comments:
I think I lean more towards the product side - the process is fine and most times I enjoy it, but I love the feeling of finishing something and being able to cross another project off my list :)
Is there a category if you feel you fall under both sides?
Definitely with you on the dark side. Plenty of stuff unframed, many in frames but not hung, and, um... over 30 WIPs/UFOs!
Yup. Definitely a process girl!
I think I'm also a process stitcher - I choose things that I think will hold my interest or that will be interesting to stitch. I have the same problem with gifty things, I lose all mojo unless it's a small. But I do also get a thrill from the hand-finishing process (again, only if they're smalls - framing is not thrilling to me). But it's like when I'm reading a book - when I sense I'm getting close to the conclusion, I start another one and have to force myself to finish the first one.
Nothing wrong with the dark side. We usually have cookies. I am definitely in it more for the stitching than the finish. If I finish, that's great. It gets framed and then I face the dreaded question of "Now what do I do with it?"
I think I have to count myself as a process stitcher - well, with all those UFOs and pieces waiting to be finished up into something, I have to be!
However, I'm a project knitter - I will immediately cast on a second sock, and I have only two knitting projects on the go at any one time (usually).
My mum is a project person - she only ever has one thing on the go, regardless of craft, and won't even buy the makings for something new until the previous project is done. She's been crafting for the best part of sixty years and yet has the smallest stash of anybody I know!
I've never thought of it this way before, but, yeah, I'd say I'm a process stitcher also.
And I already know that stitching is about controlling the ADD thing. I've got to have something in my hands. If you watch me in a restaurant I fold straw wrappers and napkins and any other paper left on the table just for something to manipulate. I cannot just sit there.
What a great read!! Totally completely process stitching here ~ in fact I love stitching because it is the ONLY thing in my entire life I have complete control over in order to achieve perfection as I see it. Don't like the color, the way the stitches lay, the fiber - rip it 'til I do! I'm a stitch one project at a time person too - certainly never have more than 2-3 projects going at a time. When I'm close to finishing one project, I'm already planning the next which I'll start pretty soon after finishing the other. Maybe to disposition that box full of sampler finishes I should get into the framing process at some point? Heavenly bliss being in control while chaos rages around me. :) Oh oh oh, and what makes one crafty little person a processer and the other a goaler would make for another great book wouldn't it!
I guess I'll be the lone one who sides with Karen. I'm totally about the finish. The process is great, but the finish is better.
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