The question of “process vs. product” comes up regularly on knitting blogs, most recently on Wendy Knits in her article Speed Kills. (As an aside, I’ve never especially worried about my knitting speed. Mine is just right, as far as I’m concerned; as for the speed at which I finish projects, I’m well aware that it’s a matter of how often I have needles in hand, rather than how quickly I make stitches.)
Of course, most people are motivated by both. There are, I suspect, very few pure process knitters, who are happy just knitting random shapes to see what the yarn will do and who don’t care if they get something useable out of it. There are likely also very few pure product knitters, grinding through because they want that hand-knitted sweater or shawl even though they don’t necessarily care for the process. Usually, however, one or the other predominates. If you actually enjoy swatching, you’re probably a process knitter. If you frequently make small projects or items with bulky yarn so you can finish faster, you’re probably a product knitter.
In knitting, I’m pretty balanced between the two, falling slightly on the product side. I love knitting; I find it endlessly entertaining to watch yarn turn into fabric, to see a sock or sweater appear on the needles, to watch colors or patterns take their places. But I’m not just doing it for the sake of knitting; I’m doing it so I can have the pleasure of the process AND a specific item when I’m done.
With other crafts, though, the balance changes. When it comes to sewing or quilting, I’m extremely product-oriented. I don’t enjoy sewing nearly as much as I enjoy knitting; I’m sewing because I want a unique or better-fitting garment, or because I want a beautiful and colorful quilt from fabrics that mean something to me. Cross-stitch and needlepoint also lean toward product — I enjoy seeing the pattern emerge from x’s of random colors, but I started the project because I love the image and want to hang it up in my house. (This is probably one reason I’m stalled on the crane needlepoint — I’m not enthused about having it on my wall, so I can’t get the oomph to do those last few stitches.)
Bobbin lace, on the other hand, is very much a process craft. I have no need for lace, but I find it extremely satisfying to flick the bobbins around. I’ll steal fifteen minutes out of my day to stand in front of my bobbin lace pillow and work an inch; I won’t do the same for sewing unless I really need the results.
Current process:
- Some progress on the bobbin lace piece.
- Finished the knitting on the Sparkles shawl; halfway through the fringe knotting and trying to figure out where I got off by one stitch in unravelling the fringe.
- Cuffs are done on my son’s mittens.
- Up to the ribbing on the Bearfoot socks; still not sure I like short-row heels, but we’ll see.
- Slight progress on the Aran sleeves.
- A couple rows on the Mesa shawl; need to fix a glitch.
- A few stitches on the Fantasy sampler.
- Started a pair of socks from Knit Picks Dancing, color Square Dance.
- Started a tank from Katia Irina.