How long does it take to make that?

I am often asked, even by other knitters, how long does it take to make that? I might be on the bus working on a scarf or a hat. Often, it’s the follow up question to did you make that sweater you are wearing?  Yes, I did. Here it comes… oh, how long did that take you?

Work in progress - Dancing Rats sweater

I don’t mind the question; in fact, I’m flattered.  Someone noticed and cared enough or was curious enough to ask. It’s just that it’s not easy to answer. “Well, it depends” is the truth but not a very satisfying answer and sounds like I’m avoiding the question. I’m not deliberately being evasive. I could tell you a hundred details about the sweater I’m wearing. I can tell you the pattern I used and where I got it, if I changed it, if I thought it was hard or easy. I can tell you what yarn I used, what it is made of and where I got that. I can even tell you stories of things that happened while knitting that sweater, like oh I was working on the sleeves of this one while on a train in Scotland and then suddenly…

How long it takes to finish a project really does depend on so many factors that its almost and impossible question to answer, unless of course you are the type of person that measures and records all of your actions. I am not that type of person. I may be wrong but it doesn’t strike me that most knitters, or any creative people for that matter are wired that way. We tend to get into the zone and lose all track of time. Just one more row, just 10 more minutes, hold on I’m almost done with this colour.

It would be easier ( I assume) if as a knitter I only worked on one project at a time, from start to finish, with a little notepad to jot down every time I worked on it, or worked on it for 2 hours ever Wednesday. But I don’t work that way. I always have a few projects on the go. Some big, some small, some easy, some more complex. If I’m commuting or traveling on vacation, I’m working on something small and portable like socks or a scarf that I can stop and shove in a bag super quick. These projects may only take a small number of hours compared to a sweater but I may not complete them for months because I only work on them while travelling. Then there are the big projects, stash busting projects like a blanket, that I will start but I will get bored because its taking too long, or I only work on it on chilly evenings because its gotten too big and too hot on my lap.

The type of project is also a factor. A pair of fair-isle socks can take way longer than a sweater dress, because the socks take many colours, small needles and concentration where the sweater dress is a big knit tube with only one chunky yarn and big needles, finished in no time.

Work in progress - Beer mittens

Sometimes I will obsess with a project, setting aside all others until its done. Even then, its not necessarily from start to finish. I recall a cable knit cardigan that I kept picking up and putting down for months.  Then I suddenly hit some magic point in its progress that I must finish it, but obsessively, staying up late knitting, taking it with me everywhere…

Sometimes a project will have the opposite effect and instead of obsessing over finishing it I’m procrastinating. I’ve finished the fun parts, and I’m left with the parts I don’t like, the weaving in of ends, the sewing of seams, the blocking. It becomes a supreme effort of willpower to pick it up and just get it done.

Dancing Rats Sweater knitting done but not the "finishing"

Life happens. It’s hard to measure the time you spend on a project in the midst of living. It may have taken me 4 months to finish a pair of socks, but I did not spend 4 months of time on it. I went to work, slept, walked the dog, volunteered, made kids lunches, did laundry – you get it. Sometimes I pick up my needles and time vanishes, and other times there are so many interruptions or an interesting conversation that I only manage a few rows before admitting defeat.

Of course, its not just knitting. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who crafts or make art that does only one thing. Knitters often also paint, quilt, do needlework, sculpt, throw pottery, you name it. We all have our favorite thing but many of us go through creative phases, times where we choose another channel for a while. Knitting is definitely my thing, but I can also lose a whole weekend  in my garden, or hiking, or a week where all I want to do is paint or draw or get lost in a good book.

So next time you ask someone ‘how long does it take you to make that?’ don’t be surprised by the long pause, the faraway gaze, the big sigh as the pondered answer is “Well, I don’t know really, it all depends…”.