Oops..Now What Can I do to Fix This?

I hear this question a lot more than you might imagine.  For some reason my students don't think that I ever make mistakes and I have to actually point them out before they believe it.

No doubt my percentage of mistakes are about on par for the average knitter.  It happens when my multitasking mind takes a coffee break and forgets to tell me.  What I mean is that I can be knitting along and suddenly my mind is somewhere other than on my work, so my hands revert to muscle memory. Clearly, at least in my case, my mind can fail me occasionally.

Anyone who is a typist, knitter, crocheter, or many other crafts will tell you that as awkward as learning how to do their craft may have been in the beginning, after awhile the fingers and hands coordinate themselves and they don't have to think about the moves any longer.  It's the same as driving a car, walking, swimming - well, you get it.  But muscle memory really is separate from the brain waves you used when you were first learning.

Today in class Jane called me over to look at her baby sweater.  She was mystified by what had happened.  She's a new knitter and what seems perfectly obvious to me is not for her.  The 1x1 rib was darling, but it was actually a moss stitch.  Why? She followed the directions perfectly and she knit 1, purled 1 across the row, turned the work and knit 1, purled 1 back the rest of the way. And it would have been perfect except that she had an odd number of stitches cast on which is what you want when you mean to knit a moss stitch. 1x1 rib is done on an even number of stitches.

First of all, even if it wasn't what Jane had originally wanted, it was lovely and once she realized that it wasn't a rip-out mistake, if she didn't harp on it; she was satisfied to see it in a new light.  Next she had somehow become mixed up in the center of the back and although she had been doing a great, nice and even stockinette stitch, she suddenly began knitting on the purl side and purling on the knit side.  Muscle memory failed her and her hands went on doing what they did without her noticing that she was on the wrong side of her work. Again, call it a design element and be sure to repeat it at the front sides in exactly the same places.  Who's gonna know?

In short, I never use a pattern because I have a  mind that "sees" design and shape so I can get by with my eyes and a tape measure for added security.  That also means I am not married to a particular set of instructions.  Most people feel better if they are told what to do on each row and I admit I did too for years, but now I don't need it.  But that also means my students can deviate from the written design and it turns out to be OK after all.  They just need to believe in the shape of the garment and leave the various designs to develop for themselves.

Seen in the completely new light called "I Meant to Do that!" you can turn seemingly awkward mistakes into something unique.  Yesterday I was knitting the last 5 stitches on the front of a sweater in garter stitch - nice and firm and won't roll out.  I let my mind go out for a walk and suddenly I had 5 rows of garter followed by 5 rows of stockinette on  the front edge. I quickly added 5 more garter sections followed by 5 stockinette.  Try it out.  It's beautiful. Gonna do it again.

Here's to happy mistakes that lead you to unique new looks.  Your projects will get a lot more enjoyable if you don't let them shame you into believing you made mistakes.

Come back and see me again soon and have a great time letting your projects go where they will.  Hugs to you and your projects too!  Pat

What's a Boo-Boo?

Boo-boos are mistakes, the itsy bitsy ones, or the colossal faux pas that you can't ever seem to forget.  In my case, I'll start by telling you why I began this blog and why it's something everyone needs to know.

First the introduction.  I'm a charity knitter, nearly full-time, which means I've tried to help out a lot of organizations with baby hats, sweaters, scarves, etc.  And all of this was working well until someone said, "you ought to be selling your sweater sets."  Long story short, Etsy is a place for that, so I started up  my store, yesterday, as a matter of fact, and it's on Etsy.com under the name of Aardvarknittery.  It's all those charity sweaters and hats I didn't send off to unknown babies, but when they sell the money, less the commission, will go to charity.

Next you should know that I'm a retired educator and because of that I can't seem to stop teaching.  Along with my gorgeously accomplished friend Ginger, we host a FREE knitting/Crocheting class each Friday.  Even if you don't have needles, hook or yarn, if you show up, we do and we'll get you on your way.  Oh did I mention we also have sinfully wonderful snacks as well...just a little perk to the afternoon of fun and friendship around the art of yarn.

This is a clear enough picture of who I am, but back to the Boo-Boos.  In life we all have them, but there are graceful ways to extricate yourself. Philosophically, shutting your mouth and saying "sorry" covers probably 90% of boo-boos, but when it comes to fiber arts, you have only so many other choices, since this one won't work.

Say you are several rows into a project and you spot a big old mistake back down the line.  My motto is that if you hold it up and a guy gallops by on a race horse and he can't see it, then forgeddaboutit. If he does, then you may be forced to frog it...you know, ribbit, ribbit, rip it, rip it.  You carefully rip it out and fix it.

Or, you can toss the darned able mess into the fireplace (in winter), burn it up to cinders and begin again.  I mentioned this to my class one time and it elicited a violent response from one lady who seemed to think I'd tossed in a body as well.  I'm careful where I mention this solution these days.  If no one can identify the ashes, did you actually make the mistake?

But in the end, when you have a mistake, a boo-boo, you do need to address it.  I have found some interesting and socially acceptable ways of dealing with this.  If you want to know about them, just stay tuned and I'll spell it all out for you in the days ahead.

While most of what I say will deal with fiber arts and how to work with them, I have a lot of yet to be published words left in my personal wordy-gurdy - just turn the crank and out they come.  We may deal with life, because it continues to happen no matter what you are knitting or crocheting.

Come back soon and let me know what you are working on, or wish you were.  I may be able to help you find answers or places to visit where you might get the information for which you seek.

Hugs to you and your projects too,  Pat.