Friday, July 28, 2017

Fixing Mistakes on a Knitting Project


Yesterday I avoided working on my cotton sweater. I had noticed that some of the stitches that I had placed on a stitch holder had fallen off.  I was afraid to see the damage. I was hoping I could just put them back on with a crochet hook, yet I couldn't seem to face looking at it.  I  imagined a big mess, and worried that it would be difficult to fix and understand. Instead, I calmly crocheted the baby blanket. It's simple, familiar, and comforting. I felt guilty about slipping into procrastination and avoidance on the sweater. This is why I only usually have one or two projects. Now I have three, (well actually, four,) which I'll explain later.



At about 7:45 this morning I drove down to the mechanic to drop off my car. He's just a mile from my cottage. He told me to leave the car in the morning, so I showed up a little before 8:00 a.m. They weren't open yet, which surprised me. I drove a little further to the grocery store and picked up some cantaloupe, limes,  and pineapple. I went back, and they were still closed. Fortunately, they have a drop box where you can leave your key and fill in the information on the envelope for your car. I used that and then crossed the street to wait at the bus stop. The bus showed up about five minutes later. There was a big truck blocking the sign, so I walked out on to the highway and waved at the driver. He thanked me when he pulled over to the side of the road. The bus drivers all know me, because I usually have my bicycle. There aren't many  52 year old women in Los Angeles who ride around town on a bicycle and take the bus! Ours have racks on the front that fit two or three bikes. 



Once I got home, I took a closer look at the sweater. I was easily able to fix the dropped stitches, and put them securely on a cable with stoppers. One of my Knitpicks circular needles had come apart, so I reattached it with some Elmer's Wood  Glue. I am going to work on that sleeve again this afternoon. I ran out of yarn yesterday, and tried to cheat by cutting off the long ends I had intended to use for seaming. I tried using them to finish the last four or five rows, but  it didn't work. Instead, yesterday afternoon I went to the yarn shop and bought  one more skein of yarn. I met with a group called Knitted Knockers and learned how to do Magic Loop technique. We are making hand knit prosthetics for local breast cancer survivors. They are quite beautiful. I'll write more about that on Monday. How are your creative projects coming along?   

6 comments:

  1. Sometimes walking away and coming back later seems to do the trick as in your case. I'm glad you've fixed the sweater. As a real novice knitter I find fixing mistakes the hardest however I've also learnt a lot from them too. You sound busy which is good - 'happy busy.'
    Hope everything went well with your car.
    Kylie

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  2. Your crochet work is lovely. I have always wanted to learn how to crochet-maybe I need you to teach me! As a knitter I know the feeling of despair over lost or dropped stitches. I am glad you were able to fix it all without too much heartache. By the way-I can only work on one project at a time. I guess I will never be able to open a shop like yours!

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  3. Hi Kylie, The car is all done, thanks. I took a workshop for fixing mistakes when I started knitting. It really helped me. Today is a relaxing day...

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  4. Hi Anita, Thank you. I would love to teach you to crochet. It's so relaxing. I think you are wise and disciplined to only work on one project at a time. I am going to go back to that, it's much healthier for me. You could definitely open a shop. You sound very focused. Let me know if you do...

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  5. KnitPicks needles are guaranteed for life so email them and let them know about the one that fell apart and they will replace it. One of my dpns broke in half and they sent me a whole new set.

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  6. Hi camby, Yes, you are right. They are very good about that. It was faster for me just to glue it, so that I could continue working on the project. They have sent me a replacement needle in the past.

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