On 2/21/2016 10:25 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
Joy Beeson wrote in
:

snip
And I'll assume that having absorbed all this data, you can knit a
pair of gloves with no more pre-planning than figuring out how many
stitches to cast on.
snip

Time is too valuable to spend it knitting like Madame Defarge. I can knick
down to my LBS and be away in minutes with something that is adequate,
water-repellent and reflective.

I don't think the motivation for most knitters (or other clothing
crafters) is time efficiency. There is art, there is joy in the
challenge of producing exactly what you (or someone else) wants to wear,
there is intellectual stimulation and, I suppose, more.

(I know a very intelligent woman who is a qualified restoration
architect and who is very active in the community, on multiple boards,
committees, etc. In many meetings, she has knitting needles clicking away.)

As for myself, I don't knit. But I have constructed my own handlebar
bags, and some other special purpose bags. I designed and made them
because nothing on the market met my quirky criteria.

If I were to design and make an item of clothing, I think it would be a
lightweight windbreaker. I'd like an array of certain special pockets
opening in certain ways, a built-in concealable hood, hidden sleeve
extensions to act as sort-of-mittens when needed, some reflectivity,
plenty of sweat vents, self-storage in a built-in pocket or pouch, etc.
I've never found one on the market that provides exactly what I'd like.

--
- Frank Krygowski