Make a note of it
Sunday March 27th 2011, 11:22 pm
Filed under: Family,Knit

A comment from a friend about patience prompts this.

My brother, years ago and well before he had his own family, told our mom he couldn’t see himself having six kids like she’d had; he just didn’t have the patience.

Mom stared at him and exclaimed, “Where do you think I GOT it!?”

I am here to tell you, he did just fine. (No, not six, but it was the whole future parent thing he was wondering about being good enough for. He’s a great dad.)

When you’re new at something, becoming really good at it can seem unreachable.  Pick up a violin, figure out which hand holds the bow, go play in the orchestra? But even Elizabeth Zimmerman had to knit her first-ever stitch.

Come to think of it, I know a lot of musicians–people who know what it’s like to spend years getting really good at their craft–who are natural-born knitters.  Reading musical notations is a brain exercise of translating from squiggles on a page to finger and hand movements.

Knitting patterns are simply a second language to the hands. Fluency comes with practice.


14 Comments so far
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I have heard people say “I have no patience for knitting”. I say, I have no patience thats why I knit.When my hands(and feet when I am spinning) are busy my mind takes care of itself. I hope you are continuing to recover.

Comment by pat Flores 03.28.11 @ 4:34 am

My husband thought I learned a new language when he tried to read one of my knitting patterns. Well, I guess it is a foreign language to some.

Comment by Jody 03.28.11 @ 5:30 am

Pat’s comment and mine agree.

Comment by Sherry in Idaho 03.28.11 @ 6:23 am

I remember as a teen SCREAMING, “If patience is a virtue, I’m not very virtuous.” I’ve had people tell me my father was seriously concerned my temper/impatience was going to be the end of me, but he lived long enough to help me evolve…

Comment by Channon 03.28.11 @ 7:12 am

I think this post is SO true! I believe learning new things (music, knitting, language) is a discipline. You do a little every day, you learn as you go, and all of a sudden, you have not only a new skill but a lot more endurance and patience. Of course, raising kids is in this category too.. I’d also add, raising dogs, gardening, and learning to do a new sort of exercise.

Comment by Joanne 03.28.11 @ 8:09 am

Yes, patience for most of us is a learned virtue. A cellist friend once said that he learned that the musical notes are in his fingers.

Comment by Don Meyer 03.28.11 @ 8:46 am

never could get a foreign language, but knitting and crochet patterns I “get”! and yes, fluency does come with practice!

Comment by Bev 03.28.11 @ 9:50 am

I always figured I was a good typist because I’d learned to play the piano first. Maybe I’m a good knitter for the same reason!

Comment by Lanafactrix 03.28.11 @ 11:32 am

So, which came first for you? Music or knitting? Music first for me, with a good intstructor…knitting took longer due to lack of same….

Comment by Ruth 03.28.11 @ 12:04 pm

Yes. It’s all practice. I completely agree. 🙂

Comment by karin maag-tanchak 03.28.11 @ 1:21 pm

Like Don, I agree with “for most of us” but I do believe in temperament. My host brother in Sweden lived with his family in Ethiopia for a while, and as a child was described as an “old soul” due to his steady temperament. I’m trying to learn patience and tact but it doesn’t come easy (and six kids could easily push it quite the other way. Glad for the one calmer-than-me gal I was given.)

I did enjoy the flow from staining the shed three times last week. It’s not a violin but I did get compliments!

Comment by LynnM 03.28.11 @ 1:31 pm

I agree: all the things I love to do are things which took some time to figure out and master. (I once killed the engine 17 times in front of the babysitter’s house, trying to get from neutral to first. With her father watching.)

Comment by Lynn 03.28.11 @ 3:01 pm

When folks comment on the quality of my knitting, I ask them if they are really good at tying their shoes. Puzzled, they respond affirmatively. Same thing, I say – practice.

Comment by twinsetellen 03.28.11 @ 6:08 pm

I learned early never to pray for patience. Because the only way you get it is by going through a lot of trials. Or having kids.

Comment by Mokihana 03.28.11 @ 9:07 pm



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