Put some muscle on it

I would like to state for the record that I don't actually EAT Peeps, but I think using them as little characters in a diorama is hilarious.

I am the kid least likely to have ever become an artist. I don't remember anything about elementary-school art except that I was positively fascinated by tinfoil drawings. You take a big sheet of tinfoil, fold it up a few times so it's layered, and use a toothpick or some kind of stick to 'draw' on it. I loved that. Seriously. And I remember trying to draw the type in magazines in about third grade, because I really don't remember knowing that a printing press actually, uh, printed type.

These days I can wax positively poetic about six-colour Heidelberg web presses and bore you to sleep with fantastic tales of saddle-stitch binding, Pantone chips, and UV coatings. But it wasn't always this way.

I want to remind everyone out there who is a new knitter or maybe just struggling with some cursed technique that knowledge is built over time. Remember when you learned to knit and it was all 'um, yeah, I'm a "knitter" kindof,' when people asked you, and you could hear the scare quotes in your voice? Once I was like that about 'artist.' There was a time I couldn't draw my way out of a paper bag. I felt like an imposter through many, many classes in college. But here I am, doing it.

And it really surprises me to know that some of the kids I graduated college with who were way better than I am are now selling cars and stuff - not in a prideful way at all, just kind of "how did I manage to make it?"

I have become convinced that 90% of the battle to do anything well consists of simply showing up. You want to be a runner, fashionista, newspaper reporter, politician, salesperson, knitter? The first thing to do is show up.

Right away that will separate you from all of the people who are just talk, who spend a lot of time saying they are going to do things but don't actually do them. You will never get above 'passable' if you don't show up.

Then, you have to first spend your show-up time learning some basic skillz. For a runner, this means learning good form and training your lungs and body to go a distance. For a fashionista, you must learn about cut, fit, colour, drape, and quality. The newspaper reporter has to learn to write. An artist has to learn how to see, and to translate that seeing into something practical. Most often this is done by learning to draw.

And if you are a knitter, you need to learn to knit. Simple, right? Well, a lot of this means doing things you haven't done before. Try new stuff! Learn new skills. Get a basic proficiency in knitting - decreasing, increasing, seaming. I recommend learning at your own pace, learning by doing, and making sure you learn something well.

The next step is finding a practical outlet for your expertise. Usually this means having a goal - running a 5k, finishing a project, getting that sweater done no matter what.

People who are experts in this kind of thing will tell you that conquering challenges is one of the main ways that people continue to evolve on a personal level over time. Don't be the knitting or artistic equivalent of the person who never let go of his high-school hairdo. You don't have to be trendy, but you should try to grow. And don't let your identity as an artist become your software or pencils. You are not the sum total of your gadgets.

I write this to myself more than to y'all. I've kind of failed to show up for knitting lately. I don't know why - I have gobs of gorgeous yarn, all the tools I need, and yet...I am lucky if I get a few rows a night done. There isn't anything in particular I'd rather be doing...I'm just kind of off my game lately.

So it really surprised me when I cast on for a swatch last night and got a 6x6 swatch done in about an hour and a half. And read a bunch of reviews at Television Without Pity while I was at it. And watched some Terminator.

Muscle. Apply some muscle to what you are doing. Go *do* things. Don't just talk about them!