ONE!
 TWO!
 THREE!

I had a crisis of knitting confidence a few days ago.

It's happened to me before. In fact I've probably even blogged about it here, but still...

I was sitting in a cafe in Daylesford near a woman wearing the most gorgeous wrap around shawl thing I had ever seen. It was chunky, big stitched, emerald green, it looked super soft and squishy warm and the pattern was just beautiful.

The whole time I was drinking my coffee, I was mentally going through the wool I have at home searching for the perfect yarn for project shawl. And trying to work out if I have big enough needles to get that chunky loose look. And of course I was also counting stitches. Or trying not to be too obvious while I was counting how many stitches in the width of the shawl.

As we got up to leave I couldn't help myself and asked her if she could take off her shawl so I could have a look at the shape and the the dimensions. I told her how much I adored it.

She held it up and it was a big chunky loop. About a meter and a half in length and half a meter in width, with a gorgeous cable detail running around it. When she put it back on she wound it around her neck twice and then sort of pulled it down her shoulders. She looked gorgeous.

And then I asked her if she'd made it, secretly hoping for some details and maybe even a pattern link. But she hadn't. She had in fact bought it in a shop in town.

So we walked down the hill to visit that shop. I don't know why, but we did.

And we found that very same shawl in a rainbow of colour options. They were acrylic and they were made in China and they cost twenty dollars each.

As we walked back to the car I felt really sad. Why would I bother knitting that shawl, if I could buy it so cheap? That much good quality, organic wool would probably cost me between sixty and eighty dollars and the time it would take me to knit it would be at least a few weeks.

I have that same discussion in my head about lots of the things we do on our farm and in our home. Why do we spend so much time and energy growing things from seed when we can buy them so cheap at the fruit shop? Why do we spend so much time preserving produce when it is available at a fraction of the cost, all year round, in tins and jars from the super market? Why do we bake our own bread, make our own clothes, gather our own honey, chop and split our own wood, repair things when they break, if there is an option to buy for a fraction of the price?

All these things take up so much time and sometimes don't save any money at all.

But the satisfaction that comes from doing them is priceless.

And although I probably wont end up knitting myself that particular shawl, it might feel a bit like trying to replicate a Big Mac from homegrown, organic ingredients, I know why I knit. I adore to knit. And I know that this winter I'll be sending my girls out into the icy cold world in beanies made especially for them with all my love. You can't buy that in a chain store.
OK, three winter beanies done, it's time to wind some wool for my farmer boy. He thinks stripes for a change. Maybe.

So how about you?
Do you choose the slow even though the fast is cheaper?
Does the fast tempt you or discourage you? Or neither?
Are you knitting beanies too?

Big love and a happy and wonderful week for you my friends.