Recently, a lady came into make 1 yarns where several of my shawls are on display. She said she wanted to make a wrap so Bess suggested that she look at the many shawls that are hanging around the store and that perhaps she could fine inspiration in one of them.
The reply? "Oh well, yes, but they're not very inspiring because they are all machine made."
My automatic response when I heard of the conversation was to laugh. When I relayed the story to others, I got different responses.
Some people also thought it was funny.
Some people thought it was insulting to have hand knitting compared to machine knitting.
Others thought that I should take it as a compliment that she thought my tension was so even that it could only be knit by a machine.
I actually had a knitting machine for a period of time. I bought it at a friend's garage sale, tried it a couple of times and hid it in the closet. After it collected dust for four years, I sold it to another friend. *
The only way I enjoy knitting is with two needles (or 1 or 4 as the project may dictate) not with a hundred hooks in a frame.
I'm not sure how I feel about the individuals who can't tell the difference between hand and machine knitting.
Creideamh (cre-div is the Gaelic word for Faith) designed by Renee Livingstone for Woolgirl Embrace the Lace Club
Hand knit in Miss Babs Yearning in the Sandstone colourway.
*The knitting machine is in a new closet. It still isn't being knit on.
Lovely shawl.
ReplyDeleteI try to laugh when my knitting and sewing is compared to machine knitting. For a while there (and maybe still is)hand made is synonymous with crap. So I try to take it as a compliment.