When you focus on the process, the desired product takes care of itself with fluid ease. When you focus on the product, you immediately begin to fight yourself and experience boredom, restlessness, frustration, and impatience with the process. When you focus your mind on the present moment, on the process of what you are doing right now, you are always where you want to be and where you should be.- The Practicing Mind, Thomas M. Sterner.
![]()
It took me three years and giving up to finally put together a necklace, predominately from textiles, that looks half decent and is wearable. YES YES! It's a major accomplishment simply because it exists. And I like it too. A nice bonus. I wore it out in public the other day and received some lovely compliments which were also a nice bonus.
![]()
![]()
At one point, I was so frustrated that I decided making jewelry was not for me and I was giving up. And then a few weeks later, I started playing with the knot beads and the necklace came together.
![]()
![]()
I wasn't focused on the end result of a wearable, attractive piece of jewelry. I was simply moving this and that piece around and seeing how they related to each other and then I started stringing the beads together and figuring out how to connect the parts, how to finish the ends and add a closure, and suddenly it - the necklace - "just" happened.
![]()
![]()
In The Practicing Mind, the author talks about how if we make the end product the measure of our success and happiness, then we can only achieve success and happiness if that end product happens and has a positive outcome. However, if we find our happiness and success in the process of creating the product, then we are always happy and always successful with the potential bonus of a positive end product. I know this; I sometimes forget. I also know that when the end product is less than best, it can be refashioned into something new through another success and happiness journey. And this is good and enough.
![]()
![]()
I started knitting this teal sweater by knitting a gauge swatch and then casting on some stitches to equal the size chart for a child's size three. From there, I developed the pattern as I went along. The body is knit in one piece, split for the armholes, and joined at the shoulders with the sleeves and collar added.
![]()
![]()
It took several tries to get the button band and collar right. At first, there were too many stitches and the band was floppy and the neck far too wide. Now, it's just right. When I was product oriented, if something wasn't working I'd just abandon the project. Now that I'm process oriented, I keep at it until I figure out how to make it work. That's a wonderful change.
![]()
![]()
I started the sweater in December 2015 making it a VERY long knitting project. It's for my youngest grandson who is only ten months old so, thankfully, he hasn't outgrown it yet. My daughter said she didn't need any more knitted sweaters only I started it for him and thought about him the whole time I was knitting it so I can't imagine giving it to anyone else. He can snuggle it like a blanket if he wants - LOL. I really don't care although as you can see it'll look fabulous on him. I'll send it soon along with his Welcome To The World coat - with his name and birth date embroidered to the lining - that I'm currently working on and should be done soon. These are very late for me and that's the way it is. All sorts of interesting things have happened in the time since he was born to delay the gifts.
![]()
![]()
These fingerless gloves are another free form knitting project where I started and developed the pattern as I went. Several of the stitches I auditioned didn't show up with the tweed of the yarn and I wasn't going to invest a lot of time in a complicated pattern that would barely be visible so I chose similar stitches to the sweater. My favourite stitches are ribbing and ribbed patterns and variations of seed stitch. The gloves are made from the left over yarn from the capelet I knit at the end of May. There is enough yarn for one more adult pair and a child's pair... which changed that from an expensive ball of yarn to an economical choice. Love when that happens.
![]()
![]()
Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day. I wore the Vogue 9112 dress which felt a lot better on than I think it looks in this picture. I am definitely not busty so if you are, and you were thinking of sewing this pattern, you may want to reconsider. Perhaps when I lose a bit more weight, it'll change the look in more flattering directions or perhaps I need to adjust my thinking away from things that are always fitted, through the waist. We'll see. Probably not. It's not always about what looks good; it's more often about what feels good.
On Monday, I have an appointment with the surgeon to review the progress on my hip. I've been "actively resting" for the past month and it's been fabulously productive so - LOL - I am almost hopeful that she'll say I need to rest for another month.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - a textile necklace
It took me three years and giving up to finally put together a necklace, predominately from textiles, that looks half decent and is wearable. YES YES! It's a major accomplishment simply because it exists. And I like it too. A nice bonus. I wore it out in public the other day and received some lovely compliments which were also a nice bonus.
At one point, I was so frustrated that I decided making jewelry was not for me and I was giving up. And then a few weeks later, I started playing with the knot beads and the necklace came together.
I wasn't focused on the end result of a wearable, attractive piece of jewelry. I was simply moving this and that piece around and seeing how they related to each other and then I started stringing the beads together and figuring out how to connect the parts, how to finish the ends and add a closure, and suddenly it - the necklace - "just" happened.
In The Practicing Mind, the author talks about how if we make the end product the measure of our success and happiness, then we can only achieve success and happiness if that end product happens and has a positive outcome. However, if we find our happiness and success in the process of creating the product, then we are always happy and always successful with the potential bonus of a positive end product. I know this; I sometimes forget. I also know that when the end product is less than best, it can be refashioned into something new through another success and happiness journey. And this is good and enough.
I started knitting this teal sweater by knitting a gauge swatch and then casting on some stitches to equal the size chart for a child's size three. From there, I developed the pattern as I went along. The body is knit in one piece, split for the armholes, and joined at the shoulders with the sleeves and collar added.
It took several tries to get the button band and collar right. At first, there were too many stitches and the band was floppy and the neck far too wide. Now, it's just right. When I was product oriented, if something wasn't working I'd just abandon the project. Now that I'm process oriented, I keep at it until I figure out how to make it work. That's a wonderful change.
I started the sweater in December 2015 making it a VERY long knitting project. It's for my youngest grandson who is only ten months old so, thankfully, he hasn't outgrown it yet. My daughter said she didn't need any more knitted sweaters only I started it for him and thought about him the whole time I was knitting it so I can't imagine giving it to anyone else. He can snuggle it like a blanket if he wants - LOL. I really don't care although as you can see it'll look fabulous on him. I'll send it soon along with his Welcome To The World coat - with his name and birth date embroidered to the lining - that I'm currently working on and should be done soon. These are very late for me and that's the way it is. All sorts of interesting things have happened in the time since he was born to delay the gifts.
These fingerless gloves are another free form knitting project where I started and developed the pattern as I went. Several of the stitches I auditioned didn't show up with the tweed of the yarn and I wasn't going to invest a lot of time in a complicated pattern that would barely be visible so I chose similar stitches to the sweater. My favourite stitches are ribbing and ribbed patterns and variations of seed stitch. The gloves are made from the left over yarn from the capelet I knit at the end of May. There is enough yarn for one more adult pair and a child's pair... which changed that from an expensive ball of yarn to an economical choice. Love when that happens.
Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day. I wore the Vogue 9112 dress which felt a lot better on than I think it looks in this picture. I am definitely not busty so if you are, and you were thinking of sewing this pattern, you may want to reconsider. Perhaps when I lose a bit more weight, it'll change the look in more flattering directions or perhaps I need to adjust my thinking away from things that are always fitted, through the waist. We'll see. Probably not. It's not always about what looks good; it's more often about what feels good.
On Monday, I have an appointment with the surgeon to review the progress on my hip. I've been "actively resting" for the past month and it's been fabulously productive so - LOL - I am almost hopeful that she'll say I need to rest for another month.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - a textile necklace