Obsessions

Laura

My family thinks I am obsessed with knitting. On a scale of one to ten I would put myself at about a six. OK, maybe a seven. They would vote ten plus. Despite efforts to change this opinion with tales of sock clubs, speed knitting contests, storage locker stashes, and a field trip to Stitches they simply won’t budge.

While I prefer terms such as "enthusiastic" over ones like "obsessive" or "compulsive," I was struck this weekend by my lack of will power and tendency towards impulsiveness when starting a new project. No, this time it was not a knitting project. We just agreed to purchase the home we have been renting for two years. A home whose kitchen cabinets are “even older than mommy!” Dark, stained cabinets with hints of varnish remaining only in corners. 

Within two hours I was back from the paint store, heavy-duty primer, paint and electric screwdriver in hand. An hour later both Jaclyn and I were happily painting away. The stark white of the primer was a glaring contrast against the dark cabinet doors. Fourteen hours, a sore back and incredulous husband later the cabinets are done and I couldn’t be happier. I love the feeling of finishing a project – knit or not – the surprise of walking into the now-bright room, the satisfaction of having done it myself and the opportunity to show our daughter that a bit of hard work is worthwhile in the end.

How about you? Does your knitting personality reflect itself in other aspects of your life?

Comments

[carol]

My scatterbrained approach to knitting definitely seems to be how I do life! I have several projects on the go, and pick them up and put them down as the mood strikes me. Which is how I approach life. Cleaning, for example, gets done when I feel it needs to be done. Not "every saturday" or some such...

[Karen B.]

I can definitely say that certain common characteristics show themselves across many areas of my life - knitting included: intensity, impulsiveness, (over)buying, need to learn and grow in my skills.

[elizabeth]

Too strange - I just blogged about this last week (cabinets too)! Unfortunately, my tendancies are to dive right into a project, get about halfway through it and then put it aside for a while. Congrats on finishing your cabinets, they look great!

[Kim U]

The cabinets look great! I always have a ton of projects in the air, both in knitting and in other stuff. I get bored otherwise :)

[Ruth]

They look lovely.

I'm a list maker in most areas of my life and I tend to get stuck on one thing when it comes to knitting, so I solved it by making a list of projects to work on for each night of the week. Productivity has increased, but my husband tells me I've turned my hobby (not an obsession even though the needles literally come everywhere with me) into a job.

[Suzanne V. (Yarnhog)]

Your cabinets look great! I did the same thing to my ugly old cabinets, and I also love the results. Eventually, I was able to replace the old fluorescent lighting, the counter, the sink, and the appliances, and now it looks like I spent a fortune on an all new kitchen, when in fact it was a gradual and modestly priced redo. There's nothing like doing it yourself. I, too, am compulsive about all my projects. My husband jokes (but seriously) that I mention a change and it's done. I learned to do everything myself because I can't bear the disorder of an unfinished project, and I will work until the job is done, all night, if necessary. It may be a flaw, but the result is a beautiful house that I could never have had if I'd had to pay someone to do it for me.

[Julia]

We are looking at buying a house we love, but it has those OLD, DARK horrible kitchen cabinets. The thing is, if the owner had painted them a creamy white, I would probably have bid on the house. So, what I need to know (I did a search of bloggers who painted their cabinets) is if you think it was worth it? Painting the cabinets? Yours look fabulous! Should I look "past" the dark painted cabinets when I look at places? thanks!

[Felicia]

Those cabinets are an amazing transformation!

[Wendy]

You inspired me to write a post about how sometimes your projects aren't really just about the project, but your personality as well. http://wisdomofthemoon.blogspot.com/2007/06/getting-what-i-want.html

You also inspired me to reconsider painting our ugly kitchen cabinets. I've been thinking about it for a year or so, but haven't had the guts. Yours look wonderful! And you do projects just the way I do, compulsively. Glad to know I'm not the only one.