Kindling for the Bonfire of the Vanities

There is a line from a song that asks “What would you ask (G-d) if you had just one question?”
On a casual listen, several things might pop into your mind. All the classic struggles about good/evil, war, famine, poverty, death, unfairness, etc. But I caught myself giving this serious consideration. What?!? WOULD you ask if you could only ask one question.
This is where the vanity comes in. After long thought I realized that really, a lot of the big answers are inside of me already. In some cases there isn’t an answer and I accept that. No struggle means nothing to ask. Other things would not be changed by knowing the answers – therefore they are superfluous; don’t want to waste that ONE question. Other things I’m only mildly curious about, an answer would be nice, but not necessary.

Which led me to wonder “if not those questions, then which?” What question would have an impact on my life if I knew the answer? “Am I doing it right?” came to mind. Again, plenty of sources right here to guide me on that. Not all of them in agreement, not all of them in accordance with my own beliefs, but available. And there is that inner voice that whispers when I do something from the “right” place – if I listen. So for those answers, perhaps I should just listen more often/more closely.

I finally settled on “How can I do it better?” I feel that should yield concrete results. After all, we’ve all had the experience of doing the “right thing” only to find it wasn’t. I’d like a pithy explanation of how to do it better, because I’ll never do it perfectly, but a few tips and pointers would certainly ease my mind. And, the really sneaky part about it all? I don’t actually have to ask G-d, pretty sure if I started asking myself this on a regular basis, I could see a lot of good answers.

What about you, what would your One Question be?


The Knitters Version of the above:
There is a line from a song that asks “What would you ask (G-d) if you had just one question?”
On a casual listen, several things might pop into your mind. All the classic struggles about superwash/handwash, needle materials, indie dyers, copywrite. But I caught myself giving this serious consideration. What?!? WOULD you –as a knitter- ask if you could only ask one question.

This is where the vanity comes in. After long thought I realized that really, a lot of the big answers are inside of me already. In some cases there isn’t an answer and I accept that. (Who designed that? Who wears that? Why is that model standing like that?) No struggle means nothing to ask. Other things would not be changed by knowing the answers (Who spends $180 to knit a hat? What were They Thinking?)– therefore they are superfluous; don’t want to waste that ONE question.

Other things I’m only mildly curious about, an answer would be nice, but not necessary (Really?!? How hard is it to have a nice join on a circular? In that episode of Starsky & Hutch, what is the woman in the elevator knitting?)

Which led me to wonder “if not those questions, then which?” What question would have an impact on my knitting if I knew the answer? “Am I doing it right?” came to mind. Again, plenty of sources right here to guide me on that. Not all of them in agreement, not all of them in accordance with my own beliefs, but available – surf any internet knitting forum and you’ll find a thousand opinions on the “correct” way to manipulate sticks and string. And there is that inner voice that whispers when I do something from the “right” place – when you fondle the fabric and feel the drape and know “it’s just right”. We’ve all knit something to “gauge” and not liked the fabric- then ripped the project.

I finally settled on “How can I do it better?” I feel that should yield concrete results. After all, we’ve all had the experience of knitting perfectly “to pattern” only to find it wasn’t the right size/line/style. I’d like a pithy explanation of how to do it better, because I’ll never do it perfectly, but a few tips and pointers would certainly ease my mind. And, the really sneaky part about it all? I think the answer, Both in Life and in Knitting, is “Swatch.” Pretty sure if I started practicing my knitting more, trying new approaches, I’d get better.