Thoughts on Knitting Design Process

Today is shawl designing/swatching day, a continuation from yesterday's efforts, though on a different piece. Yesterday I worked on Arsenic and Anise, which will be lovely and straight forward, but with a big impact in the black and red colorway. The stitch patterns just fell into place, all flowing from one to another. Fabulous work. This is why I design-for the days when it all works out serendipitously.

Slightly less serendipitous is today's shawl. I've had it on the back burner for.... a couple months now, at least 6 weeks. It was the "Mermaid Shawl" but I used the Mermaid yarn on this, and I haven't dyed more for it yet. I'm thinking a different colorway, anyway. I've toiled and troubled on this, until I'm finally stitching it and not really LOVING the outcome. I think its just that I've put so much effort into it that even if it were the most beautiful knitting on earth, I'd still say "meh." Looking at what I have stash wise, it may become purple handspun from dear Suzanne. At least, I think it's handspun (correct me if I'm wrong!) The grippiness of this particular wool is well suited to this stitch pattern, I think. There isn't a lot of it but I can just go until nearly out of yarn, and play that game.

These are the thoughts in my head as I stitch, study the hand-drawn chart, and stitch some more. I think its important that both sides of knitting, and, well, any design/art process be shown. There are days and projects where it just falls together nicely:

The smallish quilt I'm making for my mother. One charm pack is all you need for interest!

And there are days and projects in which it doesn't:

A swimwear I made for a 9 y.o. pageant contestant (Before the days of Honey Boo-Boo)

What projects come to mind for your serendipitous and less-than designing moments?