I think there is something in the water. Or in the air. Or in the yarn. We have been having just this running conversation at our LYS for the last few weeks. Cara is ruminating about trends and bandwagons in knitting as they relate to the blogosphere. Right now it's Jaywalker socks, this summer it was anything lace, last winter it was Rogue and Clapotis. I've jumped on 3 of five -- lace (roundly and soundly bitten by this bug; more later), Clapotis (couldn't fall in love -- didn't finish), and now Jaywalker. I see these beautiful things, written about by often very talented writers (and knitters) and I fall in love. I have to try them for myself. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.
Tangential to this tendency of us bloggers to knit (or at least long to try) what we see others doing, is my experience at the store. 1 in 3 of my customers comes in with a set pattern or yarn -- a pretty firm idea of the project for which they are shopping. They get what they came for, sometimes fondle a little new yarn, and mostly just buy within their plan and leave. 1/2 an hour tops. But fully 2/3s of the folks who come in just want to knit something. They come in and sit, they look at all the models, they look in our knitting bags, they thumb through magazines, they talk to us about what's out there. Then they narrow in on something they can actually see or touch and go for it -- duplicating for the most part existing pieces of knitting, adding their own touches or textures as they wish, but essentially duplicating an existing piece. In fact, the shop owner or one of us knits a sample for every yarn we get or it just won't sell. Often, when we knit a special scarf, bag or hat out of some new yarn, 1/2 of the purchasers of that yarn are getting it to make their own version of the model. Is this more of the bandwagon mentality so evident in the blogosphere?
Hmm. The guys who wrote Freakonomics would approach this how....? Let's see. I think one thing is that we want success. Knitting is a time-consuming obsession hobby. And while I'm all about the process, ripping isn't actually pleasant -- just a necessary evil sometimes. Seeing beautiful projects completed by familiar hands is somehow comforting. Somehow not such a shot in the dark. And though it seems often like copying, I think that knitting is so labor intensive that any project, even if hundreds of others are doing the same thing, becomes completely ones own in the end.
I think another reason for the bandwagon thing is not lack of imagination -- in fact just the opposite. We see something others are knitting, and we are hit with a flash of inspiration: "That yarn in my stash (or on the shelf at the LYS) would be perfect for this project." For me, a tiny seed of the above can flower into a full blown life's mission in a matter of days depending on the pattern. Just so with the three shawls I knit this summer with Judy's yarn.
So, what to make of all this lemming behavior? Well, it won't kill us, now will it (although it might kill Cara, or anyone else foolish brave enough to throw herself onto the juggernaut's tracks -- she's hosting the Jaywalker Knitalong -- 250 and growing!). And it will make for more beautiful knit things in the world, will it not? And, really, when I click around inside of a knitalong, I meet the most interesting bloggers, you know? And as for the shop? I'm telling you -- it's not just Jaywalkers. If Saint Louis is any indication, it is the Winter of Socks. We can't keep the self-striping or handpainted stuff in the store. And 5" Brittany DPNs in 1, 2, or 3? Fuhgedaboutit! I've taught two ladies in the last two days about the Magic Loop technique just so they could get their fixes in until we get the needles they're ordering. Bordering on manic, I tell ya.
Finished Shawl 
Alert!
I used the blocking wires and board I got for Christmas from my knitting Mother-in-Law to block the Lotus Blossom Shawl I got for Christmas. Fixated, I say. Finished in 2 1/2 weeks. I LOVE this shawl. It's Ginormous -- that's a king sized bed it's stretching across. And the brown and black and grayish taupe hand-painted yarn? Really nice...with like 90 percent of my wardrobe. I need to branch out colorwise, but at least this is smashing with it all...I took it to the shop, and the yarn in the kit is exactly like the Elsabeth Lavold Silky Wool we have there. Only variegated. This shawl would be great in her olive green color...Oh, man!
The shawl is beautiful!
Sock mania grows. At least our feet are warm;-)
Posted by: margene | January 14, 2006 at 08:06 AM
Ohh, gorgeous shawl! And only two and a half weeks? (Do you eat? Do you sleep? :-) ) You know, I see so many wonderful patterns on the web, and I want to make them all, but there I am playing catch-up with what everyone was doing last year. Oh well, pretty soon I intend to be all caught up, and knit a few hundred things this year alone. Ha ha! Enjoy the weekend!
Posted by: Pat K | January 14, 2006 at 05:12 PM
The shawl is lovely. Makes me want to jump right onto that wagon. Great post.
Posted by: Judy | January 14, 2006 at 06:55 PM
Thank you for a really insightful post. I enjoyed it!
Posted by: Cara | February 01, 2006 at 02:31 PM