Process vs. product

I didn't come across much of use to me as I flipped through the copy of Interweave Knits I got at Sticks N Stitches, but the short column about process and product knitting provided a little food for thought.

If forced to pick a side, it shouldn't surprise you that I would cast my lot with the process knitters. The final item matters, but for me the act of doing, the process of creating, is where it's at. I suspect that's the only way I could produce as many FOs as I did last year.

I've realized that this preference for process isn't exclusive to knitting. It certainly applies to my writing. Sometimes those pieces, whether blog entries or reviews, just need to be done. Pounding out the sentences, no matter how tortured or inelegant, is the hard work required to accomplish the task at hand, final quality be damned.

Perhaps it's a coping strategy, my way of accepting what I've done regardless of how pleased or unhappy I am with the products of my labor. I can be notoriously dissatisfied with what I write, an affliction I imagine I share with most writers. I am not greatly assured in my efforts, just dedicated to pushing through the doubt. Most days I'd say that what I do is passable, neither good nor bad but merely adequate. I'd say the same holds true for attitudes about my knitting, although I'm more likely to be happy with what I've knit, maybe because it's not something I expected to be able to do.

I reckon that no one does something that they're OK at unless the process is valued, yet I don't want to dismiss process knitting (or process anything) as the solace for those who lack confidence. As much as I admire those who slave for years on single creative works, I think I tend to prefer those who produce more frequent results from their blood, sweat, and tears. If you have a talent, better to exercise those muscles regularly than only when the spirit moves you.