Sometimes,
when you’re working on a knit or crochet project, you run into problems. The
gauge isn’t right and the garment is either way too big or incredibly small;
the yarn you’re using is actually self-striping instead of gently variegated
and you end up with splotches or stripes in very unfortunate shapes and places.
Or maybe the pattern told you that only five skeins of yarn were required to
make a particular sweater, but you’re realizing now that it’s more than halfway
finished that that is complete nonsense; unfortunately you got the yarn more
than a year ago and trying to match the dye lot is impossible. Grrr.
That
last example was quite specific because, as you might have guessed, that
particular problem is mine. After deciding that I wasn’t going to procrastinate
any more I started a sweater that has been sitting in my queue for over a year.
The pattern and yarn was given to me as a Christmas present in 2011 and since
then has been tucked away in my stash waiting. I started it two weeks ago today
(Thursday) and at first it flew by. Before I knew it I was shaping pockets and separating
for the sleeves and then knitting the sleeves! And then I hit the wall… Last
night I realized that I only had one more skein of yarn left and I wasn’t even
finished with the first sleeve. Uh oh. So after racking my brain and cussing a
little I took a deep breath and shrugged my shoulders. What can I do? I can
make the best of it using the materials at hand.
We
still have the brand and color of yarn that I’m using in stock at Yarnology,
but the dye lots are very different. The current batch is a little lighter, a
little more of a tweed than mine but I figure that if I use it on the collar
and the button band it will look like a design choice. Which is what “mistakes”
are anyway right? Design decisions. It’s not worth stressing over the things we
cannot control. That takes away the relaxation aspect of this hobby. I must
confess, however, that while I was attempting to restart my sleeves tonight
(yes, I ripped out the one I had almost finished so that I can knit them
two-at-a-time) I had the strongest urge to throw it across the room. When it
gets to that point it’s just healthier to put it away for a while.
Crafters
face problems like mine all the time and handle them in different ways. Some
rip out and start over, some just finish and give it away so they don’t have to
look at it anymore, some start something brand new so that the pain of wasted
time isn’t so great, and some, regrettably get frustrated and give up the
hobby. Problems are going to occur, that’s a truth that has to be acknowledged
in knitting as in anything in life. As hard as it is to accept after putting
twenty hours into a project, sometimes you have to rip it all out. No one is
perfect and no project is either. The ripping (or “frogging” as many call it) can
even be therapeutic. Although I tend to get a little weepy seeing my stitches
unravel so easily. I suppose the lesson here is to just go with the flow.
Control over some things is out of our hands and the sooner we acknowledge
that, the easier it gets. I love knitting. I get frustrated sometimes, but even
though my sweater will be a little two-toned I’ll still have something warm to
wrap up in this spring. I’ll be proud of it either way. And that’s what really
counts.
