Process or Product? (a little poll. . .)

Process or Product?
	Process -- all the way!
	Product, are you kidding me?
	A little a both.
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** Update **  The "Process" and "Product" knitters are dead even!  How interesting!  I thought it would be all one way or the other.  And the majority of you say you are ambivalent and have answered "a little a both."  Please feel free to leave a comment too!  I find this subject fascinating for some reason.

Comments

[Michelle]

I usually do Stockinette for the Process, and Lace or more complicated knitting for the product.

[naomi]

That is totally the opposite of the way I knit. I knit stockinette for the product, because I find it boring pretty quickly, and lace and cables, which stay interesting, for the process. Which isn't to say I don't like lacy or cabled products.

[--Deb]

Both. As much as I enjoy the process and enjoy different techniques, yarns, colors, styles, and so forth, as I get toward the end of a project, I am always anxious to get it done to HAVE the finished object, whether it be a sweater or shawl, or whatever . . . As I near the deadline, I just want the thing to be finished so I can WEAR it!

[Kathy in San Jose]

I'm a process knitter/crocheter, and if I happen to come out with a good looking/fitting product, then I'm lucky!

[Natalie]

Product, product, product! What's the point otherwise? :) (Obviously, I *like* knitting, or I wouldn't do it, but I don't take on a project unless I want the object at the end of it.)

[Rebekkah]

I'd imagine everybody does it a little for both. You don't knit unless there's something about the process of it that appeals to you, and you don't choose a project if you're just going to toss it in the garbage when you're done with the process of making it.

So I interpreted the question as which I value more in choosing (and knitting) a project, since I find it hard to believe there isn't an element of both for everybody. For me it's process. Especially now that I have been knitting long enough that I know what I like to do. And there are definitely enough projects to choose from that I can knit something for the process of knitting it, and know I'll love the product I get in the end.

And of course, there will always be the occasional product project thrown in. Those leftover bits of yarn that I feel I need to do something with, the frogged sweater that will be boring to knit (because the type of yarn really lends itself to something simple), but needs to be re-knit into something, etc. But when I get knitting cravings, and fantasize about what I'm going to make this year, it's all about what I want to knit, with what I want to wear only a secondary consideration.

[Jessica]

I marked process, because I will knit things I doubt I will ever wear if they look like a fun and interesting knit. If I want a plain sweater, I can buy one quicker and cheaper than I can make one myself, so I mainly knit for the enjoyment of the creative process.

[jess]

I really am a little of both -- I am a process crafter in many ways, which is why I always try out new methods and ways to do things and enjoy the process and the learning. However if I don't finish some projects quickly, I get frustrated. This is why I always have a simple sock on the needles at all times. :) It's my product!

[Amy Lu]

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I must be a process knitter. How else can I explain the many (43) unfinished projects lying all over the house? :-)

[Tara]

Process for me. While I enjoy finishing and having an object that I knitted, I simply enjoy the act of knitting. I think I'd be ok w/ some lovely yarn and a pair of needles and simply knitting and knitting and knitting, never really making anything.

[Annie]

Of course the process is important, like the journey being as important as the destination philosophy, but if you're not going to like what you knit, or use it in some way, why bother? (Unless it's a gift, but the outcome is still important then.) So I'd have to go with a combination of both.

[claudia]

I voted for product, but I've since thought better of it....I'm a little bit of both.

[Beth]

It's definitely process for me, but product is a nice kicker.

[Bonne Marie]

Wardrobe! Wardrobe! Wardrobe! I am a clothes whore who just Happens to be a Knitter...

A little bit of lace will do ya, though, if you have cabin fever...

[Pam]

I figure it must be product for me. Nothing turns me off to knitting more than having a project turn out to be nonwearable.

[Rebecca]

I enjoy the process of knitting, but for me knitting is just part of an overall preference for making things myself. I grow vegetables and flowers for my table, bake and can, sew, build furniture, make soap -- of course I'm going to knit my own woolies. Handmade is just better.

[Beth]

I voted "product" because that is what drives my choice of knitting project. But if the "process" were not a pleasure, who would bother? Both process and product factor into the need to have multiple projects on the needles at any given time. All of the completed products are desirable, and it gives the knitter the option to select the most appealing process when sitting down for a bit of a knit.

[Steph]

I jump between them both. Since it's cold out right now, I want a product, and not one I have on the needles! And often at the beginning of a new challenging knit it's about the process and figuring it out, but as I near the end, and there are no mysteries it's about wearing a sweater.

That being said, I spent all day Sunday swatching to see what kind of lace I could create. That's totally product.

Wow, I'm allover the place!

Good question, I like to hear what others think about this too.

[Steph]

I meant process when I talked about the swatches. I must be really mixed up!

[Lizzy B]

A great debate! I am firmly in both camps. I love the feel and activity of knitting. The feel and sight of the yarn being used up and composing a fabric as it leaves my fingers is one of contentment and happiness. However, as I start to see more progress I yearn for the "next step" in the pattern to see it unfold and take shape as I knit. I treasure my finished products and proudly wear them, so having a finished product is high on my list of joys. I especially value the end product when I have been challenged by the item, or it has components that are new and interesting to me, like steeks.

[Risa]

While I seriously enjoy the process of knitting-- the feel of the yarn flowing, the sounds of the needles clicking, and the magic of turning a ball of yarn into a usable item-- I'm a task oriented person by nature and have a strong need to finish things.