Why I love (and hate) Knitting

Image courtesy of Apolonia / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Knitting is one of my most favorite hobbies. In fact, I knit all the time. I just love to make things for myself, while watching shows. Since I don't have a job right now, it's nice to be able to make your own sweater for 16 dollars (versus paying 30 bucks or more for a new one). However, I also hate it. Why, you ask?

1. It's time consuming. I knit slowly, and that means it takes me longer to knit something that takes a person one day. And I knit most of the day, since I'm unemployed.
2. Due to my own failure.  I make way too many mistakes when knitting, and end up having to do rows over repeatedly. For example, I completed one of the sleeves for a sweater I'm working on, only to find out that near the beginning I skipped a row on the pattern. Since it's really bothering me, I'll probably go back and do it over. But that was days spent, now in the gutter.
3. I can't do it for long. I have to take breaks or I get bored or my hands start hurting. However this is only a minor problem, as I can go do something I'm supposed to be doing, like the online drawing class homework.
4. The right yarn for a project costs too much. Yes, acrylic yarn is the most affordable, and thus 95% of my stash is acrylic. The roughness of the yarn doesn't bother me that much, mostly because I don't use lotion so my hands are tougher than most. Cotton is much more expensive for less, but I have a bit to try and make a cotton jacket and socks. The other varieties are out of my price range, sadly. I also feel bad, because there's not much I can do with acrylic, since I have no use for scarves or hats (it never snows where I live, and the coldest it gets at night is 40 degrees F).

The most irritating of these reasons is #2. I want to learn how to knit faster without making so many mistakes (and maybe get in the habit of checking my work repeatedly to catch errors faster). If so, I would be less frustrated with knitting and like it more.

As a side note, I want to open an etsy shop, but I have no idea what would be good to sell. I'm thinking about selling small and affordable items, like hats, plushies, phone keychains (knitted), or bracelets. However, I am wondering if people would buy them, because I know it is hard to advertise and be noticed. Once I get more ideas, I will make another post.