Consider for a moment … when you begin a new craft project, what "mind" do you bring to the making of it? Do you strive for perfection (every stitch in place, every seam straight)? Do you follow the pattern as if you’re trying to get an A?

Do you find yourself reading and rereading the instructions, losing the feeling for the big picture amid the details of its execution?

This weekend I found myself stressing about a new sweater I started knitting for myself — worrying if I like the color, whether it will fit me, whether the cables will lie flat, and whether it will turn out how I imagine it, or look like some funky handmade hippie thing.

Then I asked myself, does it really matter? Yes, I spent money on the yarn, and yes, it takes a long time to finish a project so “you might as well do it right”.

The old, familiar argument: do a "good job" or you’re wasting time and money.

But if I was really looking for a perfect fit and good value, wouldn’t I just go out and buy a sweater that I can try on first? The logic doesn’t hold up. I must have another reason for choosing to make a garment myself.

Then I remembered something a friend told me: it’s not what you’re doing that matters in the grand scheme of things, but how you are doing it.

What you’re making isn’t going to be important in 5 or 10 years, but what mind you bring to the project is: were you annoyed/frustrated/seeking perfection, or relaxed/breathing/enjoying the process. Because the process of creating is also a process of learning. What’s the point of investing your time if you just teach yourself aggravation rather than appreciation?

The knitting project is a good metaphor for other life events too. How you approach “it” (a work situation, a relationship issue, home repair, health, whatever) deserves as much consideration as the details of the “it” (and in the long term, this is where the rewards come from).

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