sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

August 8, 2007


frustrating evening
posted by soe 8:48 am

When I got home yesterday evening from swimming the four blocks from the Metro to my door, I decided it was a perfect time to finish knitting the baby sock I’m working on. I spun up an episode of CraftLit (I’m behind a bit, because I like to save them until I knitting to listen to them), pulled out the knitting, and cranked away.

At eight, I switched on the tv because there was a new episode of Miss Marple on PBS. (I find I don’t watch a lot of tv these days, but I really do dig certain PBS shows, particularly British mysteries.) Knitting while watching a character knitting… What could be better?

The culprit was outed and I turned my full attention back to the sock, eager to see if I was at the toe decreases yet. I was! But, lo! What was that back several inches, in the midst of the lace?

I had screwed up the pattern.

All of a sudden, what should have been an eight lane highway veered off on one side as if a mysterious exit ramp had magically appeared.

I had a vague recollection that I may have discovered myself a stitch short at one point, decided that I had accidentally decreased on the previous row, and blissfully did a lazy fix of increasing a stitch because it was easier than pulling my attention away from Miss Marple’s keen eye for detail. Ah, the irony!

(I would like to note here that I have the utmost respect for those knitters who, when discovering a mistake in their knitting, pull out the camera before pulling out the stitches. I find myself so frustrated in those moments that I can’t even envision taking the time and energy to document my own stupidity. Or maybe it’s to shame the knitting into better behavior, like a Thai police officer in a Hello Kitty armband?)

So I ripped back to the gusset decreases to fix my mistake. My frame of mind was not helped by the fact that Cascade Sassy Stripes is not a particularly fun yarn to work with. It is splitty and it tears far too easily. Add to that that I was having difficulty figuring out where I lost the YOs as I attempted to put the yarn back on the needles, and you have a sprite on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I mean, I already talk to my knitting; it wouldn’t take much to push me over the edge…

Luckily, Rudi came to my rescue with a bowl of chili and a bag of lime-flavored chips. He put in FOUR of the hot peppers from our garden, so for half an hour all I could pay attention to was that my mouth was on fire! By the time I returned to the sock, I could once again focus on the pattern and figure out how to make it work.

Rudi headed off to bed a little while later as I sat knitting in my rocking chair. I plugged my headphones into the iPod and then promptly dozed off. I awoke at 2:30, knitting in my lap, dishes unwashed, contacts still in, and ready for the night to be over…

How was your evening?

Category: knitting. There is/are 3 Comments.



Oh, so sorry to hear that. You should be pleased with yourself for exhibiting such patience, though. I think I would have had to set the sock down for a day or two in order to calm down.

And since you asked, my evening — also spent knitting — was pretty good. I finished the Booga Bag, though I think it may need an extra run through the hot wash to get feltier. (Is that a word?) I worked on my sock, too, though I think my next pair may need a bit of a pattern, ’cause all the stockinette stitch is getting a bit dull. I’m scared of lace, though, for all the reasons your post. I need a bit of room for error/improvisation.

Comment by Sarah 08.08.07 @ 11:52 am

I hosted a craft night at my house even though I am not working on any sewing projects at the moment. Fran brought her beadwork, Pearl the Harry Potter pictures clock she’s making for a friend for last year’s christmas present, Patti brought a cross stitch she had just recently picked up, and Shannon worked on an outfit for her niece – amusing me and Patti by asking questions that made us feel like we weren’t the most beginner in the room.

I used the time to break out the remaining clay from my birthday party and attempted to sculpt a dragon. I wanted to make something larger than one little block, which meant it had to be lots of colors. It was a challenge to figure out how to lay out everything, and once colors started to touch one another there was no going back. The results are not anything you would get excited about.

Comment by Grey Kitten 08.08.07 @ 12:12 pm

Well, I watched Miss Marple too and got some linen stitched onto my needlework frame. I also got about 10 stitches on the linen. I love Geraldine McEwan.

Comment by Camille 08.09.07 @ 8:35 pm