This is a really interesting question! I'm not a crafter at all but I suppose I could compare it to cooking - if you follow a recipe are you really being creative? I think there's skill in the execution and applying the correct techniques to produce the final creation. And I adapt recipes but I don't think I've ever created one of my own! But I do cook and bake as a creative outlet - so I think it still counts 🙂
Interesting point! I’m inclined to think both are creative but in different ways. I’ve never followed a pattern to the letter except when I’m test knitting for a designer. Otherwise I’m always adapting and reimagining the design to suit my yarn, my body, my needs. I do think you are right though designing from scratch uses a different part of the brain. Like using a new muscle it takes time to build up strength and proficiency.
Thank you for the input. I have finally reached the point in my knitting life that I don’t feel I have to follow a pattern to the letter. It took me a number of years to feel confident in customizing patterns to my own tastes. I’ve actually developed a bit of a rebellious spirit as in “just because you did it that way doesn’t mean that I have to”. I sort of had to remind myself that I bought and paid for the pattern and if I wanted to change something I had that right. Now I occasionally buy a designer’s pattern not because I want to execute it as is but because there is some feature I want to use in a completely different project. I am eternally grateful to the amazing designers who are constantly creating new and innovative designs.
Hmmm...I hadn’t thought of it from the perspective of culinary efforts. Most of the time I am skillfully executing someone else’s recipe but there are occasions, mostly when I want to make soup, that I just throw some leftovers and pantry staples and appropriate seasonings into a pot and call it dinner. For me though, meal prep is more of an obligation than a creative outlet. Perhaps the act of assembling all the raw ingredients, be they food, fabric, yarn, or pen and paper, and producing a finished product is a creative act regardless of the source of inspiration. I’m not sure. Perhaps I need to rethink my definition of creative.
"Tapestry weaving has taken me out of a comfort zone I didn’t know I lived in." Defining creativity is an age-old challenge. Even execution of someone else's designs pulls us into the creation of something new in the world. I like to think of it as a spectrum. And, creativity is not limited to those on the far end of the spectrum who break barriers into new territory ... it's all of us getting a little ... or a lot ... outside our comfort zones. Weave away! And, thanks for sharing your insights.
This is a really interesting question! I'm not a crafter at all but I suppose I could compare it to cooking - if you follow a recipe are you really being creative? I think there's skill in the execution and applying the correct techniques to produce the final creation. And I adapt recipes but I don't think I've ever created one of my own! But I do cook and bake as a creative outlet - so I think it still counts 🙂
Interesting point! I’m inclined to think both are creative but in different ways. I’ve never followed a pattern to the letter except when I’m test knitting for a designer. Otherwise I’m always adapting and reimagining the design to suit my yarn, my body, my needs. I do think you are right though designing from scratch uses a different part of the brain. Like using a new muscle it takes time to build up strength and proficiency.
Thank you for the input. I have finally reached the point in my knitting life that I don’t feel I have to follow a pattern to the letter. It took me a number of years to feel confident in customizing patterns to my own tastes. I’ve actually developed a bit of a rebellious spirit as in “just because you did it that way doesn’t mean that I have to”. I sort of had to remind myself that I bought and paid for the pattern and if I wanted to change something I had that right. Now I occasionally buy a designer’s pattern not because I want to execute it as is but because there is some feature I want to use in a completely different project. I am eternally grateful to the amazing designers who are constantly creating new and innovative designs.
Hmmm...I hadn’t thought of it from the perspective of culinary efforts. Most of the time I am skillfully executing someone else’s recipe but there are occasions, mostly when I want to make soup, that I just throw some leftovers and pantry staples and appropriate seasonings into a pot and call it dinner. For me though, meal prep is more of an obligation than a creative outlet. Perhaps the act of assembling all the raw ingredients, be they food, fabric, yarn, or pen and paper, and producing a finished product is a creative act regardless of the source of inspiration. I’m not sure. Perhaps I need to rethink my definition of creative.
"Tapestry weaving has taken me out of a comfort zone I didn’t know I lived in." Defining creativity is an age-old challenge. Even execution of someone else's designs pulls us into the creation of something new in the world. I like to think of it as a spectrum. And, creativity is not limited to those on the far end of the spectrum who break barriers into new territory ... it's all of us getting a little ... or a lot ... outside our comfort zones. Weave away! And, thanks for sharing your insights.