Post the Second

The other post that's been kicking around my head has to do with "process." Adrienne mentions this in her book, and we talked about it at the party too. Adrienne writes about being goal-oriented:

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.

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.

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 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.