facing a hard truth

I have a pattern problem. There, I said it. And the pictures prove it.



This is precisely why I started my love your library challenge this year. I was watching my books and magazines pile up, and I just knew I wasn't knitting enough from them. But I didn't actually sit down and do the math like this. And it's ... a little startling, to say the least.


I thought magazines were my biggest problem, but in reality the number of patterns in my book collection is pretty close. I was accurate in realizing that I rarely knit out of my magazines, however. A whopping two projects out of my magazines ... eeesh. I typically only purchase single patterns (e.g. PDFs) if I am about to immediately cast on for the project, so that's why that category has a much better completion rate. Magazines will always be an on-going problem for me, since I have so many subscriptions. I subscribe to Interweave Knits, Knitscene, KnitSimple, and Vogue Knitting. I know it would be smarter to only purchase the issues with patterns I want to knit in them, but I love getting magazines. It's a real treat for me to sit down, relax, and see what kind of patterns are in each issue. So I don't anticipate cancelling my subscriptions anytime soon ... must knit faster!



Looks like I'll be focusing my energy on knitting out of my magazines for the rest of this year!

P.S. For those of you who like the idea of the love your library challenge, feel free to join in! It's okay to start mid-year. Come back at the end of April to add a link to your monthly wrap-up/next month's goals blog post.

10 comments:

Vivianne said...

LOL that's interesting. Where do you store them all ? How do you remember which issue has which pattern ? I like the knit the library idea, I hope it comes back again next year because this year I am doing Knit the Queue

Emily said...

Oh, thankfully I have a lot of built in shelving in my house! And I love pretty magazine boxes ... Ravelry has been a lifesaver. It makes it so much easier to remember patterns I want to knit and electronically search through the library I already own!

Gracey is not my name.... said...

I love magazines too! and I do buy some books and single patterns too...I do complete some, but I'm sure not that many..

Karen said...

Your info graphics are great! I suspect if I was to make a chart of my patterns it would look a lot like yours!

Voie de Vie said...

Boy, do I know this feeling! I've committed to crafting from my own bookshelves for the last few years, and it's worked to a lesser extent. Designing has put a happy crimp in the plan, but don't think that means I've stopped buying books and magazines. Nope, no siree Bob.:)

Vera said...

OMG! I thought I had a lot of patterns that I want to make.

Michelle said...

Oh dear, that first chart is genuinely alarming . . .

Truly Myrtle said...

You made me laugh! I daren't work out my pattern/knitting ratio .... I have decided to rearrange my magazine purchasing though - I'm not feeling inspired by the knitting mags at all so I'm moving over to a couple of "lifestyle" crafty mags for a while ... I guess my recipe/cooking ratio might not get any better that way though ....

Carolina22 said...

Your infographic is great! There are SO many great patterns out there I wish I could knit faster :) I was going to graph time from CO to FO for each project but found it was too depressing!

Cyprienne said...

Subscribed! I don't even want to think about the patterns I have saved for a rainy day...

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