You can pick up just about any hobby on the internet. Platforms like Youtube and Skillshare allow anyone to learn any skill at low prices, or for free! The go-getters of the world make the most of this opportunity, stacking on skill after skill, much to the admiration of their friends. I categorize myself in the second sphere of people, “the onlookers”. The onlooker is someone who avidly watches tutorials, yet rarely participates in the activity themself. They might watch the video and think to themselves “Wow! How cool! I wish I could do that” but never actually muster the self-confidence or motivation to get started.
Somewhere around early December, I began watching a slightly absurd amount of knitting videos on Youtube, all thanks to the overlords better known as the Youtube Algorithm. At first, I had no intention of picking up knitting, it was (as you might guess) “too much effort”. I would have to go to the store and bought knitting needles, and pick out the right color of yarn. No thanks. However, the more videos I watched, the more enamored I became with the craft. And so, a mixture of my increasing cold neck as the winter season trudged on, my life goal to be a cool grandma, and the FOMO from seeing the beautiful end result of so many Youtube videos propelled me and Bernadette (my car) to JOAAN one blustery Friday afternoon.
I stood in the yarn aisle of JOAAN for thirty minutes, contemplating which yarn color and texture to choose. Finally, I decided the color and skedaddled out with my yarn and needles in tow. Then began the process of actually knitting. I quickly remembered why I am so hesitant to pick up new skills: my perfectionism. I knitted the first 3 rows of my scarf feeling like a pro already. I increased my knitting speed with a flair of confidence. Then my first error struck, I dropped a stitch. The only thing I could think to do was completely restart, This happened about 15 or 20 times before I admitted defeat and chose to embrace the flaws. It was my first project, after all, I should have been expecting it to come out a bit wonky from the beginning.
15 hours of feverish knitting later, I was finished with my first project! Even though it was far from perfect, I felt proud of myself for persevering to finish it. A couple of weeks later, I had a COVID scare and had to isolate myself to see if any symptoms would develop. What better way to spend a weekend alone in your room than knitting another scarf! Sending my mother off to do my bidding, I got to work a couple of hours later. I binged season one of “The Great” (a great show, would recommend), and a day later, the scarf was complete! It was significantly better than my first one and propelled my knitting confidence. Since then I have also attempted a balaclava. It didn’t turn out great, but I learned a new stitch!
For all you onlookers, I would highly recommend picking up a new hobby this year! It can seem daunting, and no one likes to be bad at something, but you can only improve once you start! Knitting has inspired me to possibly try out some other crafting techniques, like sewing darts in my pants and crocheting. Happy knitting!
Hi Willow!
I think it’s so cool that you learned how to knit, even if your skills aren’t perfect yet. I definitely admire the look of things like knit cardigans and vests and have enviously looked upon people in my classes who can knit their own clothes. I’d definitely say that I also tend to fall in the “onlookers” category, choosing to not actually pick up a new hobby not necessarily because I think it would be too hard but mostly because I just never get around to doing it. Hearing about how you managed to overcome this and pick up knitting is going to inspire me to look more deeply into the craft-based hobbies that interest me (that could include knitting too, which I’ve always wanted to learn). I think that crafting is also really attractive for how it reduces environmental waste and would love to be at a point where I’m able to create at least part of my wardrobe. Good luck in all your future knitting adventures!