Any time knitting is a good time
Friday May 2, 2008
I spent yesterday evening with some friends, playing a board game, knitting and having a little wine. I was working on a project I hadn't picked up in a month or so, one with a really easy Quaker Rib pattern, and I thought I knew what I'd been doing when last I looked at my row counter.
But evidently I wasn't paying attention and started knitting on the wrong row of the pattern, the result being that I knit about two inches with the front side of the stripes on the back of my work (it took me so long to notice because I was engrossed in the game and the company and not really paying attention to what I was doing).
So today, clearly, I have to rip back. But I don't feel too bad about it because, first, it's a really easy pattern and it's no effort to reknit a few inches, but also because I had a good time while I was knitting, and I know I'll have a fine time knitting it again.
Admittedly, I don't always have such a good attitude about mistakes. I do my share of swearing at the needles, the yarn, my inability to count to four accurately and consistently. But for the most part, I know that I knit because I love it, and a mistake just means I get to do what I enjoy for a little longer.
How do you feel about knitting mistakes? Do you believe any time spent knitting is time well spent, even if it doesn't always go your way, or do you sometimes wonder why you picked this craft at all? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
But evidently I wasn't paying attention and started knitting on the wrong row of the pattern, the result being that I knit about two inches with the front side of the stripes on the back of my work (it took me so long to notice because I was engrossed in the game and the company and not really paying attention to what I was doing).
So today, clearly, I have to rip back. But I don't feel too bad about it because, first, it's a really easy pattern and it's no effort to reknit a few inches, but also because I had a good time while I was knitting, and I know I'll have a fine time knitting it again.
Admittedly, I don't always have such a good attitude about mistakes. I do my share of swearing at the needles, the yarn, my inability to count to four accurately and consistently. But for the most part, I know that I knit because I love it, and a mistake just means I get to do what I enjoy for a little longer.
How do you feel about knitting mistakes? Do you believe any time spent knitting is time well spent, even if it doesn't always go your way, or do you sometimes wonder why you picked this craft at all? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Comments
If I minded too much, I wouldn’t knit. Mistakes just go with the territory. I’d rather not make them, but…..
I just spent some time un-knitting nearly 500 stitches. I got into a comfy rhythm doing it. Just the same as if I was knitting forward.
I agree with your topic title. Any time knitting is a good time. I knit everywhere. I attend a lot of sporting events due to having a number of grandchildren involved in them. Unless it’s raining, I knit at all of them. And never drop a stitch when it gets exciting. LOL
I don’t think I have ever knitted anything that I did not make a mistake. I either have to rip or fix-it. I get frustrated when it happens sometimes but the project results are usually worth the effort of doing it again! I have been knitting for over 60 years and still keep at it. I enjoy the kraft and I knit everywhere. Thank you for your blog, I learn something new every day from folks like you.
I get so frustrated with mistakes! Most of them are made because I’m engrossed in something else while knitting — TV, talking, etc. I save the complicated patterns for when I can fully concentrate. I have an afghan I’m working on that’s fairly straightforward so I can knit while watching TV. But sometimes I’ll make a mistake and have to take out 180 stitches!
I have yet to knit a piece where I didn’t either change my mind or make a mistake and have to rip back. I’ve finally learned to accept it as part of the process. It’s also how I learned to be a better knitter. At first I could never have figured out just where something went wrong to go back. Now I can fix a specific mistake without having to re-do the whole thing. I’m still not brave enough to unravel withouth the needles though. I’m still unknitting one stitch at a time.
I find that if I have to rip out a mistake right then and there I get very annoyed with myself; but if I wait a day or so and then go back and rip out the work, it isn’t nearly so frustrating. Right now I am waiting to get myself to the point where I can rework parts of a sweater that came out WAY too big (we’re talking clown-size and I am no teeney weeney). For me, knitting is about developing deeper patience. I love what I do as a knitter and am proud of my work, so the time I put into it - either knitting or tinking - is worth every bit of effort.
Knitting without making any mistakes??? I’ve been knitting for 20 years, and I cannot remember any project I did not have to undo part or even all of it because it did not look like what I had in mind… I create my own patterns, use more or less complicated techniques, don’t take many notes so I cannot copy the same project, and I watch TV while I knit. You can imagine how many times I unknit the same work to make it “right”!
If I wanted a perfect project I would knit it on a machine. I’m not a machine, I don’t expect my work to look machine made. I don’t want it to look machine made.
One method I use, just finished using in fact, is the crochet hook method.
I knit to the line that has the mistake drop one stitch down to the mistake. Now I have a run in my work. At the mistake I use the hook to close the run using the stitch I mean’t to use the first time. Sometimes, it may take twice to get it exactly right but is not so time consuming as taking out several inches at a time.
I used it this time when I joined a new ball by using overlapped yarn for several stitches and then split the double yarn making a new line of stitches. The new stitch was not a problem but the resulting hole where the yarn end pulled out was. I made the runner as discribed, used the hook to attach that line of stitches to the row below to anchor it. When the remaining end is worked in it should be fine and strong. I was using a garter stitch so I had to take the hook out of each stitch and put it in the other way to draw up the next stitch. Stockinet stitch would be even easier as the hook would just pick up the next loose yarn. Patterns would be more challenging and maybe too frustrating. But for simple this works for me.
Take a deep breath, forget being angry and look at each stitch as you repair. Being angry does not contribute to fixing the problem.
“Once is a mistake, twice is a mistake, three times is a design element.” Elizabeth Zimmerman
“Only Allah is perfect.” Arabic quotation
“If you can’t see it from 6 feet away it isn’t a mistake.” Elizabeth Zimmerman
We’re all in good company. Are there mistakes that have to be fixed? Yes, mistakes in lacework show and, unless you really can fudge it (sometimes you can) you have to fix them. But there are lots of *mistakes* that can be left well enough alone.
All this said, last June I went to my nephew’s wedding in Boston. I always bring my knitting on long drives (even short ones) and was working on a lace shawl. We had to drive through the Ted Williams Tunnel (the one that collapsed). I hate tunnels to start with. I also knew that there was a mistake in the lace (I began working on the wrong pattern row), but I knit through the stupid tunnel anyway. It was that or have a panic attack (aside from the fact that DD was driving). It was good knitting time, even the picking back of 30 some odd rows of lace next day .
I’ve been knitting since I was 8 years old and I’m now 56 (wow! that’s 48 years). My mom, who taught me, and who has since left this world, always insisted I rip every mistake. She always helped me fix them, but I learned so much from those mistakes. One other great piece of advice she gave me about knitting is: always, ALWAYS, use the best yarn you can afford when knitting anything. You put so much time and energy, not to mention love, into all projects that you want your pieces to last and of course, look their best. I’ve tried to follow that advice and when I didn’t, I again learned what she meant. My worst project was a sweater for myself. . . . wonderful pattern, but I cheaped out on the yarn. I think I wore it once and from then on it didn’t hang right or just looked icky. I still have it as a reminder of “mom’s lesson”.
I’ve been without my mom for 39 years, but she taught me lots of good life lessons as well as knitting truths.
I have the same attitude/approach as you but it’s a real problem when I notice the mistake a hundred rows before! I knit everywhere and this does result in more mistakes in my opinion.
Wendy - Johannesburg, South Africa