After looking at scads of pictures of other people’s knitting I’m reminded of one of the things I so dislike about the rise in popularity of my little hobby.
Some folks just don’t let the yarn speak to them. 
Here’s the thing. Not every yarn wants to be every project. Yes, you may have a lovely bit of mercerized Egyptian cotton and a wonderful pattern for a knit tea cozy (?does such a thing exist, really? Let’s pretend…)
That doesn’t mean your sky blue mercerized Egyptian cotton wants to be a tea cozy.
That bulky heather yarn doesn’t want to be lace, either.
I’m a firm believer in the art of play and the spirit of indulging in creative journeys. But if you’re going to take the time, know the yarn. Know the pattern and the way it feels and then decide if what you are making is indeed what the yarn wanted to be made into.
I’m not posting pictures because I don’t want to single any of these poor folks out. But trust me when I say that they’re the ones whose projects give hand-knit gifts a bad name.
Amen, sister.
Feel the same way about glass. Learning techniques and copying a pattern is just the start.