A show of discipline

Can you hear them?

The little voices, with their subtle Norwegian accent, “Oh, Lori…? Ve are here for you, pleese coome and knit wit us! Ve are fluffy and our stitch patterns are new!” Do you hear them taunting me?

I cannot give in. Not just yet. I must show some discipline. The yarn does not tell me what to do…

You see (or I should say, “You’ve seen,”) I’ve been in a lot of swaps this year, and just a couple weeks ago I got some fantastically beautiful handspun yarn from Rae, which I cast on almost immediately for some socks. Very lovely socks, using the Elongated Corded Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks.

I even did a new heel-type (afterthought “peasant” style heel, if you’re curious) to keep up the interest. And they are beautiful socks, the yarn is soft and slinky (tencel!) and I love watching the colors morph from one to another. I love this yarn, I love these socks, and I love knitting them.

Despite that, I cannot wait to be done with these socks.

I was talking emailing with Jen (my now-revealed Secret Pal) about the difference between a “process knitter” and a “project knitter.” A process knitter, she says, will, if stranded on a deserted island, knit all the yarn in her posession, then proceed to unravel it and knit it again. A project knitter in the same situation will knit all her yarn, then make yarn from grass and knit it too…
I think I have a bit of both in me. Most of my knitting starts out as “process” – I’m grabbed by a new pattern, a new fiber, a lovely color, and begin a project with great gusto. Oftentimes though, I quickly become distracted by the “next new thing,” and I am tempted to let the “old” knitting linger in a basket (bag/drawer/pile/heap) to start anew. It could easily become a vicious cycle, and to avoid it I switch gears and become a “project” knitter; I need these new socks; it’s cold and this new sweater will be so warm if I can just finish it; I have to fill the gift box with knitties… (And yes, it works very much the same way for spinning – I start out wanting to use the fiber, and finish up convincing myself I need the yarn.) (Yeah, I know, like I need the yarn.)
So the mittens will have to hold off for a little while, while I make some room on the project board. I’ll bet those silk mitts just fly off the needles!

So what sorts of knitters are the rest of y’all? Does anyone else practice “reward program” knitting to get items finished?