Not New and Not A Master

Posted by
Kelly Gilliam
May 5, 2006

As of recently I've noticed a dichotomy forming of knitting and crocheters: one camp is the newbie group, the ones who have just learned within the past year or so and are still on their second or third scarves. The other half are the experienced group, the people who have been knitting for fifteen, twenty, or more years. It seems as though most things are geared towards those two groups, and while I don't have a problem with either group of course, it makes me want to say - hey, what about us intervanced knitters!?

Okay, so intervanced isn't really a word, but it's one I've started to use to describe myself when asked, "So how experienced are you?" Give me a pattern and I'll be able to do it, I can make sweaters and shirts and gloves and socks with gusto. Give me an incredibly intricate Fair Isle sweater made in five different colours? Okay, I'm not there yet. That's fine, I know my limitations and I'm comfortable with them. In fact, it makes me glad I don't know everything there is to know because then I wouldn't have anything new to learn, and what's the fun of something if you're not constantly learning as you go? However, I noticed the majority of the pattern books, the how-to books, the help guides, the magazines, the whatever, are geared towards one of the two aforementioned groups rather than us intervancers.

Perhaps I'm not looking in the right places, but I find that most patterns are far too easy, or something I'm not quite ready to take on (remember that five-colour Fair Isle pattern? I'll get to it some day, but not tomorrow). Now, notice I said most places. There are of course lots of areas where I can find a beautiful pattern that I want to make. There are lots of pattern books, and marvelous sites with many beautiful patterns to choose from. I guess sometimes I just want to say, I'm ready for something new, but not something too scary yet.

Great sites with patterns for the intervanced:

Knitty

MagKnits