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minh
Permanent Resident and Destasher Extraordinnaire
USA
3416 Posts |
 Posted - 03/13/2012 : 7:32:40 PM
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For the last couple of weeks I have been looking at patterns and books and have projects on the needles but I need some knitting mojo.
If you are "stuck" with your knitting, what do you do?
Do you try out new techniques that stretch your knowledge? swatch a new yarn? discover a new designer? go to a knitting circle to get some positive vibes?
http://minkyknits.blogspot.com |
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Jane
SustaYning Member
USA
4299 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 06:22:58 AM
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You might not like my answer...but what I do is stop trying. Just for a little while. There are times when I realize that I'm forcing it, so that's when I make myself step back a little and take care of other life stuff that's getting in the way (usually a project at work or at home that's nagging at me). After a few days, or a couple of weeks, even, I can turn to my knitting with fresh eyes—the old unfinished projects don't seem boring, that new yarn would make a nice hat, my Ravelry queue doesn't look so stale, etc. I knit because I love the process and the creativity, but I also need to knit to balance my life.
Jane
Betty deserves everything and more: Make a Donation
Blog: Not Plain Jane
Photos: Flickr Album
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marfa
Permanent Resident
USA
1879 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 06:27:14 AM
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How do.
Minh, sometimes knitting mojo can be elusive, sometimes I have knitting mojo ADD.
Knitting groups are fabulous to get the juices flowing - currently I don't have one that is close enough to get to on a regular basis & while I have spoken of starting one, that has not happened yet. Sometimes I find that doing a project that takes little brainpower is a good starting point. In other words, if I don't have to do much thinking & can get into the groove, my knitting mojo jump starts & then I am OK.
Look forward to hearing from other folks on this cool topic.
Thanks, Minh.
Martha
http://marfasmewsings.blogspot.com |
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anderknit
Permanent Resident
USA
2557 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 06:28:05 AM
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The other things I do:
(1) pick up Barbara Walker and some scrap yarn, and randomly swatch, or
(2) organize my stash/patterns/needles.
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' " |
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emmyc
Chatty Knitter
USA
132 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 06:50:28 AM
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I'm sort of in the Jane camp on this one. I'll stop and read a book or watch comfort TV(murder or sci fi). There is also going down to the LYS and looking at the new yarns.
emmyc
winchester ma |
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dothead
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
493 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 07:05:06 AM
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I am in the Jane camp too. If I try to force tings on myself, it gets worse. I just go with the flow and the mojo comes back.
Vicki, the Constant Lurker(who sometimes stops lurking and actually posts) |
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Ditzy Girl
Permanent Resident
USA
4718 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 07:51:46 AM
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I set aside but keep in front of me so if I do get the urge it is right there to pick up. In fact right now there are 4 in front and I work 2-4 rows on ea every day or night. I find working on more than one at a time keeps my interest in all.
Zola, Seattle, Wash.
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One Stitch at a Time
Chatty Knitter
270 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 08:12:21 AM
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I have learned that stress zaps my knitting mojo, so I recognize that something is interfering in my ability to concentrate and relax.
What brought my mojo back recently was an email from a LYS promoting a sale. I (truly) pushed myself to go and it did the trick. I had fun with string that afternoon, and my knitting mojo returned.
Nanci
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Catlover
Gabber Extraordinaire
371 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 09:03:01 AM
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| I'm another one in the "Jane" camp. Sometimes the mojo is gone and sometimes my hand problems cause me to stop. Either way, I read and do other things. Then it comes back. Not being able to knit when I want to, due to hand issues, is so frustrating that I learned not to push things. Reading a knitting magazine, especially the ads for new yarns, is helpful for mojo, but I don't do that when I can't knit anyway. Hope you find yours soon. |
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mjhealy
Warming Up
59 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 1:12:14 PM
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Happens to me too. Agree with Jane. Can be like chasing a ghost. Best to let it come back on its own terms.
Knitting for others is always, always rewarding to me. Perhaps I try too hard with my own projects looking for perfect pattern and yarn.
How about a hat (roll brimmed for next KRR) or a simple baby sweater?
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EmEm
Warming Up
USA
78 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 1:54:50 PM
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| I agree with Zola. I am always working on multiple projects anyway. So I organize them on a shelf and work a bit on each every day. I lose my mojo when 1 project needs to get done for a deadline and I have to devote all my time to it. But it's usually not gone for long because the rest are waiting in the queue. Stress is not a factor for me because my knitting is a stress reliever. Great topic! |
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eldergirl
Permanent Resident
USA
1683 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 7:59:34 PM
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Dear Minh, hard as it is to imagine you without knitting mojo, it is real when it comes by, and is puzzling.
Anyway, there is so much good advice here that my two cents is not really worth it. But I agree with Jane and others that letting go of anxiety about losing your mojo is good.
Are you reading any good books, or watching any good TV? Please keep posting.
We will miss you if you don't post!
Best wishes,
Anna
Life is beautiful. |
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Of the Hunt
Warming Up
India
88 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2012 : 9:26:23 PM
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Hi Minh! I agree with so much of what has been said--but my own 2 cents worth are two other ideas:
I love to help other people learn to knit (or knit through problems at new levels) so I find it a big help to COMPLETELY put my projects and yarns and needles out of sight. Then I can focus on what they are doing. It's very cleansing!! So when I am feeling  about my mojo I can make that disappear. Poof. Sometimes for weeks.
Second, I dig up books on other textile techniques. Books on antique weaving. Or Asian textile traditions. I live in India, so books on sari weaving abound. Before you know it I have sticky notes all over the pages that have eye candy i want to reproduce in knitting. New construction ideas or new (to me) color ideas. Then I pull out my stash to see if I have the ingredients or if I need (joy!) to go shopping.
No worries. You OWN your mojo. It doesn't own you!
Good Luck,
Diana
Diana
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Grand-moogi
Seriously Hooked
Australia
783 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 12:53:13 AM
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I guess I have never worried about it. Sometimes I don't feel like knitting so I don't. I might sew, garden, visit friends, have friends visit, read, do housework (that brings back the everything mojo)
Knitting is relaxation. I find the main time the enthusiasm leaves is when there is a difficulty with what I am knitting. Solving the problem often brings back the interest.
I knit a hug into every stitch |
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knititblack
New Pal
2 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 01:21:46 AM
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| This happened to me this week too. I'm in a knitting funk. To get out of it, I try to find an instant-gratification project - something cute and fun that I can finish in an evening or two. I paticularly recommend silly things that will make you smile, like little toys (check out Mochimochiland for awesome patterns) or jewelry. I just found a beaded bracelet pattern - MaryElla from Knitty - that I will be starting tomorrow. :) I can't wait to go pick out my beads and yarn! The funk is gone! |
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dodiemarts
New Pal
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 02:54:19 AM
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| Definitely try teaching a non-knitting friend, co-worker, neighbor to knit. I've also found that taking a little break and reading a good book works - soon enough you're missing your knitting and can't wait to get back at it! Best wishes. |
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KnittingKittens
Chatty Knitter
USA
161 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 03:32:02 AM
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Oh dear! I lost my knitting mojo this past summer. It was my longest knitting dry spell ever. I agree with Jane -put it aside and do other things! I liked what Diana (Of The Hill) said -you own your mojo it does not own you. Smart gals!
That said, I sort and organize my knitting "stuff" and put it away. If I still do not feel like knitting I read, bake and clean out a drawer or closet. Anything but knitting actually!
The mojo did come back when I took my mother into NYC for a full day of doctor's appointments. She had been seriously ill about 10 years ago and this was major all day tests and follow-ups.
I brought a small amount of yarn, needles and a crochet hook. While I waited I made one of Teresa Fox's Little Hearts (Kleine Herzen) and stuck it in the pocket of her jacket for her to find. She was thrilled with it and I kept making these hearts for a few weeks at least. I also crocheted some hearts too-cannot remember what pattern I used.
Eventually I felt like knitting. Just go with it-it will come back I promise! |
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kim.degener@gmail.com
New Pal
1 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 04:34:31 AM
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| When I start getting knitting burnout, I rest my knitting brain by taking a break with a different craft. I always have a cross stitch project going and taking some time with that lets me come back to my knitting refreshed. |
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Liz F
New Pal
41 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 04:45:29 AM
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Hi Minh! So much wisdom here, and my first suggestion mirrors Jane's - step away from the knitting. It's like finding an accounting error where the harder you look, the more difficult it is to find.
On the flipside, knitting has been a godsend for me during the most stressful points of my life. I pick something that requires my full concentration (usually lace) and FOCUS on it. The end result is that I have completed something pretty, and have worked through the stress at the same time. (Susanna IC has some lovely designs that work up quickly - just saying!)
Things will click into place when the time is right.
Best,
Liz
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kkknitter
Seriously Hooked
641 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 05:35:14 AM
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Minh, you have my sympathies. Although I'm knitting frantically at the moment, I lost my reading mojo months back. Too many thing has been buzzing around in my head and life the last year, and I have blamed the unrest around me on the loss of being able to enjoy both reading and knitting. I belong to both a knitting group and a reading group, and the knitting group gives me far more at this point, but it did not use to be this way. Maybe it has something to do with aging? Can't be the time of the year (Spring fever) since for me this condition has lasted over several seasons. I really miss being able to sit down and churn through a book.
I hope that your knitting and my reading mojo returns soon. Meanwhile, how about trying out stranded knitting?
Kristina |
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Ann2Knit
Warming Up
50 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2012 : 05:35:30 AM
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| This happened to me recently. My stash was a mess so instead of trying to knit I organized it and discovered enough yarn for several new projects. But, part of the problem was that I had too many WIP. I frogged a couple of them that had been sitting so long that I didn't know where I was in the pattern. I bagged and labeled them and put them in the newly organized stash. As a result of seeing what and how much yarn I had I began to want to knit. First new project using my stash: an open short-sleeve cardigan sweater (Jane by Georgie Hallam) for my granddaughter. I had originally purchased enough yarn for a baby sweater, but sweet baby grew faster than my knitting, so this pattern that uses less yarn than a fuller cardigan was just right. |
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Wishing for some knitting mojo
