in which i actually DO ruin some knitting

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stephanie wrote yesterday about “ruining” some knitting, and maybe that was sticking in my subconcious somewhere, or maybe it’s just that i can’t STAND to be outdone on anything, but . . .

remember those amazing mitts i was working on from the luscious handspun alpaca? no??
let’s review the many ways in which they are amazing then:

  • the fiber: truly exquisite alpaca, raised locally, with the kind of luster seen only in rare, natural pearls
  • the yarn: one of my first handspun efforts—a more-or-less consistent fingering weight yarn that any of us would be happy to knit with
  • the fabric: cushy, kitten-soft, and eternally touchable, even to a tender neck such as mine
  • the pattern: ok, maybe not the most brilliant or revolutionary, but still, a nicely-cohesive design that is classic, classy, and still practical

and then, the most amazing thing of all: the flub-up of all times
because, of course, i had offered this pair of mitts as prize, presuming immaturely, that my work would do justice to all of the above qualities!

there i was last night, having missed my workout because i fell asleep and ended up taking a four-hour nap. once i finally awakened at 11 pm, i decided the only thing to do was knit until i got sleepy again. the first mitt had turned out grand (albeit, worked on the wrong needles) so i grabbed the second mitt and got going. i knitted and knitted, happily working away while david tuned us in to one saved program after another. a few hours later (and finally, i think, all caught up on the first season of the L word), i sighed as i wove in the last yarn tail and looked over my pair of mitts.

you know that oddly faint feeling you get when the blood in your veins suddenly turns ice-cold all at once (remember, EVERY yarn end has been woven in, and both thumbs are done . . .). ok, well, maybe that reaction was slightly unwarranted—after all, it IS just knitting, not brain surgery. but when i glanced down, for the second or third time mind you, at my finished pair i saw this

see anything odd there—just a little??
heh. i was so bummed. i mean, i had put them up as a prize, for heaven’s sake . . . jeez, the universe just HAS to laugh at me. it was not lost on the universe at all, even at 5:56 am, that i completely screwed up knitting the pattern WHICH I WROTE MYSELF.
i did NOT read the pattern. that is, i read the pattern, but i did not bother to do a stitch count when i reorganized the stitches after the ribbing. yeah, that. heh.

you can rest assured that the pattern itself is fine—witness the first mitt, which is correctly knitted. no, this was totally about me being a cocky dumbass.
(pardon my display of potty-mouth; i don’t like to swear on the blog, but that was one bonehead move).
i mean. i did not even notice it. not even a little.
and i sure as hell am NOT going to rip them out. i know, i know—i should rip them out. but i won’t. really, i just need to move on.

and then you know, we could look at this in a couple of ways. there are some people who would give anything to have these in their hall of shame, with the title “did you read your pattern??“.
of course there will be another “good” pair up for a prize. but should we keep these on the prize list too? i mean, this is certainly a prize-winning mistake . . .

and boy-oh-boy, speaking of prizes, if you haven’t seen it yet, you must go check out the blogiversary prize list and send me an email. course, you will have to compete with a LOT of other readers—YEE-GAW you all!

seriously, i had no idea; i probably announced the contest a little too early, but really—who knew?? the first time i ran a contest, maybe 12 people entered it. and then, for the lanterne rouge contest, i got about 30 or so entries. so i was pretty surprised yesterday and today to be clocking in, well, several hundred entries already. wow. i had no idea.

i had no idea that you all added up to a much bigger number than i have in my head most of the time (i don’t read stats—can’t make any sense of ’em). and i had no idea that word could get around so fast. i know the internet is powerful, but i always thought, based on previous responses, of knitspot as just a tiny speck on the radar. but things are a-changing—something has happened since august. and it feels really, really cool.

and now, time to go search for another nice handspun yarn for mitts (grumble, grumble, grumble).

37 thoughts on “in which i actually DO ruin some knitting

  1. Oh Anne, (sighing) I’ve been there! No words really can comfort, you’ve got the right attitude about it anyway! Laugh it off, it just makes you a better knitter and pattern writer in the long run! You’re still amazing!

  2. I love it! I love it! The teacher made a mistake, the teacher made a mistake. (Using that fifth grade na na na na na sing songy voice)
    I definitely want them in the prizes because I want to win them and keep them in my bag to hold up when I am in class and I make a mistake.

  3. Hi Anne, don’t be so hard on yourself. IT was late, you were nap-groggy, you were catching up on TV, you were feeling confident… you can replace them lickety-split as you are such a speedy knitter!

  4. I feel better now. I’m going to have to cast on for your Ostrich Plumes scarf, again. Why is it when I worked a sample it worked (more or less) like a charm, but when I get out the REAL yarn… Anyway, Anne, we’ve all been there, done that. Eat some chocolate. You’ll feel better!

  5. Gee, I’d just unravel and reknit. The great thing I learned from my brief foray into machine knitting, is that ripping out is no big deal.

    I’m sorry that you have so many contest entries–because that reduces my chances to win–but with a terrific blog and fabulous prizes, what can you expect? 🙂

  6. I’m sorry to leave another comment, but I’ve just gotta–Janet’s comment made me giggle so hard! It reminds me of something my Sis, Mom and I might think of!

  7. Hmmm…well, at least you didn’t leave off the thumb or something. That would be REALLY embarassing!
    😉

  8. Go ahead and give them away. Alpaca does not recover well from ripping out. I tried it when I wanted to redo a sweater neck, and went out and bought more yarn after I saw how the ripped out part looked reknit. So: ripped out twice, bought new yarn, sweater now looks great. I suggest giving the mistake as the prize, just for fun, buying new yarn, and knitting a new matching mitt for yourself.

  9. Oh man. That is just too bad. At least it’s a nice, blog worthy, spectacular screw up.

    There’s always a bright side, isn’t there?

  10. Oh well there must be a nice little homily in there somewhere about learning and moving on….but doesn’t it just suck…I speak as one who is always making mistakes..big and little.

  11. aren’t they more of a designer’s feature this way? Most people tend to have a hand/foot slightly smaller than the other one so they probably fit better than if both of them were the exact same…anyway, I think that they are lovely and if no one wants them, I’ll happily put myself forward 😉

  12. Hmmm…scuse me, teacher? I can’t tell what’s wrong with the mitts. Isn’t there another thumb hiding under the glove on top?

  13. On the bright side, it could have been a really big, intricate sweater… I will admit that I had to look several times before I saw the goof. Now you just have to knit another pair just like ’em with the thumbs reversed, and you’ll have 2 pairs!

  14. When I do something like that, I hang it on my wall to keep me humble. I’ve made some bush league mistakes lately (casting on the wrong number of stitches is a real favorite, as is cabling the wrong way), so it is (kind of) nice to know I’m not out there alone. Thanks for sharing.

  15. It took me a second look to see the missing cable row too. I say chalk it up to knowing you too make mistakes and then sit back and let us laugh WITH you 😉 Oh, and it is nice to know I am not the only one who cabled backwards!! Thanks Marjorie!

  16. They’re lovely as is. When wearing, just use them to test the powers of observation of folks around you. If they notice, they pass; if they don’t, no worries! 🙂 Seriously, I’m impressed that you could make one from memory anyway, regardless of how many rows of faux cables are included. 🙂

  17. Oh, they MUST be a prize!! They’re a limited edition!! And you could always point out that the 3-cable one is for the right hand, and the 4-cabled one for the left hand, for the knittingly-challenged who don’t know where to put their thumb. (you know, like those kids shoes which shall not be named, with the red dot and the green dot….) xxx

  18. I see no problem (unless you don’t have the yarn left)…just knit another pair the same way and now you have 2 pair for the contest!

  19. To make you feel better, yes, I have screwed up the second sock of a pair on a pattern that I wrote and have had to yank them bak. Repeatedly. grr

  20. Holy cow. I had to look at that forever. I kept thinking “What? What’s the problem?” I see it now.
    (This knit-blindness is likely the reason I have a gift for ruining knitting.) You’re competing at the olympic level though. Nicely done.

  21. I think that you have a lot of lurkers, like me. I read a lot of blogs but rarely post comments, because i feel that i have nothing original to say. And why does a person want to hear the same thing over and over again? even if it is praise.
    about the gloves, keep them as a prize. maybe the person that wins will have the perfect set of hands for them.

  22. Officially name them “Mixed Numbers” or “Four and Three”… then everyone will think it was intentional.

    If if really bugs you, Susie has a great idea, if you have the inclination, time & material.

  23. Anne dear, FRAME them!!!! Lovely shadow box frame. One of your first spinning efforts and such a charming goof, they will make you laugh every time you look at them. And they ARE beautiful.
    –Angela

  24. I probably wouldn’t even have noticed if you didn’t point out the mistake in the first place! *lol* And I can certainly see myself doing the same thing…

  25. This is like the time when the Yarn Harlot knit two identical Latvian (or Estonian?) mittens. Identical in every way, including placement of the thumb. 😉

    I think you should keep them, because they will make you laugh whenever you put them on!

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