Being Creative vs. Buying Creativity

Many people tell me how creative I am when they see my knitting, but honestly, I'm not overly creative.

Relying On The Kindness Of Indies
I've always thought I had a good eye for all that is aesthetically pleasing, and so when I see a gorgeous sweater design, or a stitch pattern that worked out particularly well, I can mimic that, and in so doing, mimic creativity.  And just by virtue of the fact that I've been so prolific in my knitting, some of my work has got to be "creative" even if that was pure happenstance.  I look at some of my most successful knitting projects, and each one has components of it that were stolen from those much more creative than I am.

While the shaping and some of the graphics is mine, much is taken from "Knitting Out of Africa" by Marianne Isager

This sweater uses a stitch pattern I took from Kristin Spurkland's "The Knitting Man(ual)" - which is only $6.94 on Amazon right now...an incredibly good deal.

And there are also a number of projects that clearly indicate not all my work is successful.

Fortunately, in the fiber-arts community, there are lots of incredibly creative and talented individuals who I can rely on to borrow from their abilities.  People that know how to put together colors, or how to dye a specific fiber so it comes out just perfectly.

Current Knitting/Spinning
I have done virtually no additional knitting on the Milano Blanket, so I'm deferring a photo again, but I did start a new spinning project (including a new spinning technique).

Using the roving and the dyed locks I got at the Cottswold farm we visit at the retreat back in May...

...I have started spinning the locks and roving...

...you can see I'm not so good at melding the locks into my spinning quite perfectly yet, but it's getting more and more natural.  And in addition to LOVING the color of this fiber, I am also loving the thick and thin nature of my spinning on this project.