My Tenets of Knitting

Kinda like tenets of faith, except it's nothing like that at all.

Basically, I think it would be prudent for me to tell you folks about me as a knitter, so if reading my blog turns out to be a disappointment for you, it's your own damn fault.

1) Knitting is a hobby for me. It does not pay my bills, and it fulfills no known life requirements. Therefore, I am rarely in a compelling situation to finish a given project, except for my own personal satisfaction.

2) I am fickle knitter. While I have never permanently quit a project, I do tend to start projects whenever the mood strikes me, without giving much thought to other works-in-progress waiting for my attention. Basically, I knit whatever I please, whenever I please.

3) I am not seeking to make any sort of living as a knitter. I am not Franklin (who, by the way, is fabulous) or Jared (who I would love to meet one day). I do not intend to write books, create drawings, or design patterns. While that could change, and I might one day write a book or design a pattern, my yarny goodness will never be my day job.

4) For all of the above reasons, I am generally loathe to agree to knit something for someone.

5) I tend to buy yarn that is moderate-to-expensive in price. I'm a MAJOR fan of all Noro yarns, and also love using Hacho by Mirasol for socks. I do not care for Lambs Pride, as I find it quite itchy. I do not knit with acrylic. Not even as a joke.

6) I usually buy my yarn locally. This is for two reasons. First, I get to feel that whole I'm-supporting-local-business vibe. Second, and more importantly, I have had the unfortunate experience of ordering yarn online, only to discover that the yarn or color wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. I only by yarn online if I already know the yarn and the colorway (e.g. Noro Kureyon Color 182), and it's a deal that can't be resisted. My LYS (Local Yarn Shop) of choice is Loopy Yarns.

I think that's it, but then, I am a fickle knitter (see #2), so I reserve the right to add or subtract from this list as I see fit.

In The Beginning

So, it all started on September 30, 2008. As I was knitting during my commute home, a fellow knitter and I caught each other's notice. When the person sitting next to her got off the train, I sat next to her. And she asked me, "Are you Uvon?"

This was a surprise.

However, I affirmed that I was indeed known in certain circles as Uvon. Because that happens to be my name, and some people call me by my name. She went on to explain that someone had posted a photo of me knitting on a weblog, and I was being discussed on Ravelry.

So, when I got home, I checked, and indeed I was being discussed. The blog in question had posted a photo of my that very day, and already the Chicago knitting community was talking about it, and had determined it was me. All I could do was verify that they were right.

It occurred to me then that, if I was going to be that recognizable, I had an obligation to create an internet presence for my knitting self. So, I started planning the yarn blog. But, there was trouble...

The very next day, my internet connection at home went down. After a very frustrating two weeks of complaining to my building manager, the internet was restored. This actually turned out to be a fairly good thing for this blog, because I hadn't come up with a good name yet.

The day after the infamous blog post, I shared with my coworkers, most of whom have resigned themselves to my knitting, and still occasionally eye it as something rather novel. They were, of course, either fascinated or polite enough to appear fascinated, and that was mostly the end of it.

One would have expected that to be the end of it. However, most of my stories are like Stanley Kubrick films - they never end quite when you expect them to.

Earlier this week, with the home internet still down, one of my co-workers happened to mention the blog with me knitting. She shared this with a friend of hers, and the friend said, "You mean that knitting guy?!" She reads that blog, and she remembered that post.

And with that, I realized that I had a title for my blog...That Knitting Guy.