Several months back, I dipped my toe in the "Will Work for Yarn" pool on Ravelry. It's an amazing group of knitters, who for a myriad of reasons will knit projects that are not their own. There are rules of course -- check-in timelines, how many projects you're allowed to take on, etc. -- but this helps it run as a highly functioning group. Try and explain this to someone who is not a knitter, and it's a bit challenging!
So, let's say you have a yarn stash that has outgrown your anticipated life expectancy (not that any knitter wants to admit that!). You really would like to wear/use those projects you had designated for the yarn, but there's just not enough time to knit it all! Enter the WWFY group... and knitters who, for payment yarn (in this group, payment yarn is of an equivalent value to the yarn you've designated for the project), will knit your project for you, and return it to you as a completed project! Many of these knitters like the challenge of learning a new technique, taking on a challenging pattern, or knitting something they wouldn't knit for themselves. As an example, one knitter loves to knit lace, but doesn't wear it... and I love to wear my lace shawls/scarves but don't have time to knit everything in my stash or queue.
I've met some fantastic people through this group -- both in person and in the Ravelry virtual world. And I have some amazing projects that I am now able to wear, and not have to wait until I'm 140 years old to finally knit them! But no matter how wonderful the projects (and believe me, they're wonderful... more on that in a moment), it's the people who make this such an enriching experience.
I'm so fortunate to have an incredible virtual friendship with Jackie and Loresa on opposite ends of our country, but it feels like we're next door! And even though Nicole is several provinces to my west, she and I have had the luxury of bonding over cupcakes!! Rebekah, Rose and Kelly are almost "next door" geographically, and I've enjoyed our chats, laughs and meetings in person. It's like we've known each other for years, and all because of a common bond over fibre and sticks! There are so many others -- Marilyn, Pam, Gunta, Fay, Lynn, Bhama, Helen, Mugdha, Vivian, Alex, and another Alex, as well as Robyn, Jasmine, Erica, Minja, Kaiya and Jen.... Each of these wonderful knitters have taken on skeins that have been languishing in my stash and turned them into works of art! I'm so thankful!!!
Let me share some eye candy...
Wonderful, eh?! And that's just a small sampling....
Another benefit of this group is that it has taken some of the pressure off me knitting my own projects. I now have time to focus on the knitting experience and enjoy the projects I'm finishing, without the Damocles Sword dangling overhead. I've also 'paid it forward' too, and have knit two projects for others.... actually in the process of finishing the second one this week. It's a great experience to knit with different yarn, try different techniques, and I can say it has helped me develop a second-sense in reading charts and intuitively understanding the relationship of stitches in a pattern. Benefits all around!!
No comments:
Post a Comment