This is what failure looks like. A nasty, ugly rendition of Swatch #9. This is what happens when you pay attention so hard that you cease to be able to pay attention.
I really don't know what happened. I was knitting away on the first half, doing short rows like a house afire, thinking I knew what I was doing and being very, very careful to follow directions. Then I knit the second half. It looked kind of funny so I ripped it out and knit it again making sure I had the short row wrap and turn deal under control. Damn! It looked funny again but I decided to wait until the next day to look it over because hubby was talking to me, the news was on, and it was that time of night where the cat gets involved. He wants to sit on my lap. He wants me to scratch under his chin and around his cheeks and he doesn't want any damn knitting in the way. He will poke his head up under my knitting just to make sure I know he's there. If that doesn't work he will start biting on the yarn or the needle cable and then if that fails to get my attention he will bite me on the hand. Oh, yes. He bites and then wants me to pet him. I don't get that either. It never works.
I took what I thought was a good look at the swatch pieces the next day and thought to myself, 'that looks okay, I guess'. Sigh. I know okay isn't good enough for the Master's people but I thought maybe it would all come out right in the blocking. Yeah. I actually thought that. What was really going on was me wanting to do the Kitchener stitch. I love doing that. Call me crazy but I can't get enough of weaving two pieces of knitting together and leaving no visible seam. This was the swatch I was waiting for. I held the two pieces together and thought they matched up just fine. Fine. Great. Where's my tapestry needle and my green yarn? I had a little shiver go through me as I started in on the first stitch. God, I love doing this. K, K, P, P....on and on the needle goes. In and out, back and forth making lovely even stitches where there weren't any before. I always hum a little tune as the stitches form and I'm always a little sad when I'm done. Knit, Knit, Purl, Purl....it's mesmerizing. When I came to the end I tossed the swatch into a bowl of water to soak so I could block the thing and get a good look at my handy work.
I really don't know what happened. I was knitting away on the first half, doing short rows like a house afire, thinking I knew what I was doing and being very, very careful to follow directions. Then I knit the second half. It looked kind of funny so I ripped it out and knit it again making sure I had the short row wrap and turn deal under control. Damn! It looked funny again but I decided to wait until the next day to look it over because hubby was talking to me, the news was on, and it was that time of night where the cat gets involved. He wants to sit on my lap. He wants me to scratch under his chin and around his cheeks and he doesn't want any damn knitting in the way. He will poke his head up under my knitting just to make sure I know he's there. If that doesn't work he will start biting on the yarn or the needle cable and then if that fails to get my attention he will bite me on the hand. Oh, yes. He bites and then wants me to pet him. I don't get that either. It never works.
I took what I thought was a good look at the swatch pieces the next day and thought to myself, 'that looks okay, I guess'. Sigh. I know okay isn't good enough for the Master's people but I thought maybe it would all come out right in the blocking. Yeah. I actually thought that. What was really going on was me wanting to do the Kitchener stitch. I love doing that. Call me crazy but I can't get enough of weaving two pieces of knitting together and leaving no visible seam. This was the swatch I was waiting for. I held the two pieces together and thought they matched up just fine. Fine. Great. Where's my tapestry needle and my green yarn? I had a little shiver go through me as I started in on the first stitch. God, I love doing this. K, K, P, P....on and on the needle goes. In and out, back and forth making lovely even stitches where there weren't any before. I always hum a little tune as the stitches form and I'm always a little sad when I'm done. Knit, Knit, Purl, Purl....it's mesmerizing. When I came to the end I tossed the swatch into a bowl of water to soak so I could block the thing and get a good look at my handy work.
How is it that something feels so right and then ends up to be so wrong? Seriously. I did not notice that the swatches pointed in different directions until I had the things wrung out and was starting to pin one end down on it's blue blocking board. Really. They were supposed to be in a V shape. I was still in that 'it's okay' mode and obviously still in the afterglow of doing the Kitchener stitch. I was astounded that the thing looked so shitty. I was even more astounded to discover that I had done one piece totally wrong. I had done the short rows wrong. On the wrong side. Wrong. How I thought it was right in the first place is a mystery to me. I read the damn directions over and over and over. I looked up the references I needed. I wrote some of the important parts down. I knitted. I ripped. I knitted again. How is it not right? Oh. I failed to notice that one tiny sentence that stated that the second piece should end on the right side. Damn.
The good news? I got to do my beloved Kitchener stitch all over again.
The good news? I got to do my beloved Kitchener stitch all over again.
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