making mistakes

The more tired I am, the more knitting mistakes I make. Then I have to figure out whether they are worth fixing!

A few weeks ago, my sister Loy was looking at my KnitPicks catalog, and loved a winter hat with a brim. There are a million free patterns available, but I couldn't find anything like it so I did end up ordering it and paying the 1.99. Loy said her son would love it, and also Julie would want it for her two boys, so it was worth it.

Unfortunately, I could NOT meet gauge with any of the million skeins of yarn I own and I had to order the recommended KnitPicks yarn. It was about 8 bucks for each hat, not bad really, considering the price you would pay for a hat like that.

Once the yarn finally arrived, I sat down last week and decided to make O's first. I didn't have any problems until the brim. The pattern recommends template plastic OR plastic canvas. DO NOT try plastic canvas. It catches on the yarn and will not slide in. Plus it is way too brittle for the stress the brim has to take as you knit the following rows. I reknit the brim pry 4 times before I gave up on the plastic canvas, and on my next med run I purchased "stencil" plastic and hoped it was the same as "template". It worked fine. (Is it rude to email the pattern maker and tell her the plastic canvas does NOT work?)

After all the brim hassle, I started up the hat. It is a cable pattern, and also has a bobble row. (The bobbles are a REAL hassle because I use Denise interchangable needles, and if you twist the needles trying to do bobbles or anthing complicated, they pop off the cables. And every time they pop off, the cables wear down and they pop off easier the next time. I finally figured out that I had to do the bobbles on double point needles, then put them back on the circulars. I have to juggle many needles for that row.) I knew something was off on the bobble row, but could NOT figure out what. I finally gave up and figured Loy would never notice, and finished the hat. (She didn't, and O loved it. Pics when he comes over next.)

Last night I started on Ethie's hat, which is the same size as O's. I breezed thru the brim, now that I know to use the plastic, and started up the hat. As I reached the end of the bobble row, I knew it was wrong. I counted and counted and counted and could NOT figure out why. Then I realized I was reading the pattern wrong!! ARGHH!!

So, do I ignore and keep going? Well, Julie loves cables and she will pry look closer at the hat than Loy. Plus I have to make one, in a smaller size, for her other son. The bobble row wouldn't be the same if I didn't fix it. So, rip, rip, rip, I tore out the whole bobble row. I think it was worth it, and the bonus was the correct row has LESS bobbles, hehehehe.

It is sometimes complicated to decide when to fix something I do wrong. My bottom line is, if I think the person it is for will notice I fix it. And, if I think it will bother me the whole time I am working on the project, it is way easier to just fix it. (Lupus brain is a bit OTC brain...)

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Updates:

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Nail polish- I think it wears really well. My fingers are hard workers, and my nails are used for prying and other tasks constantly. The Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure is worth the price in my opinion.

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the exercise experiment- That went well also. Somehow it changed in my brain to be done before 2, so I panic earlier than intended, but do get the exercise in.

I am also trying to train my brain in other areas. When I crochet animals, I used to get crabby at the end of the row when I had to undo and move the stitch marker. I started cheering "Yay! a row done!" every time and now I am happy to move it.

Next I plan on trying to pick on random thing and cheer every time I notice it. Working on improving my mood when the pain is bad! :)

Have a great week,
Anne