I promised a finished object. There is none.
Or actually, there was one, finished, modeled, photographed, complimented. It did not look bad; some said it looked quite good.
But it was not what I wanted.
I thought I would live with it anyway.
Then something occurred to me. If I will not purchase something that is not perfect and does not make my heart sing why on earth should I settle for less with things I have made? I should not.
What was finished is no more. The sweater has been unknitted. The yarn will be washed and dried and rewound into balls.
In time the sweater will be reborn. The same pattern; the same yarn. Perhaps better decisions will be made the second time around. Would that we could always have second chances.
Comments
12 responses to “A Failure”
I have knitted and un-knitted many a project, as you know. With the cost of yarn, why keep it as something you don’t love? That’s a beautiful cable though, so I hope you can “apply” it to some other masterpiece!
The color of the yarn is beautiful, so at least you can re-knit it. You are right, of course. We shouldn’t settle, especially on the things we’ve created. Those should make us the most happy of all the items in our wardrobe.
I agree and the pictures are your memory of it anyway. That’s why knitting is so much fun, you can start over!
EXACTLY! I absolutely agree — often I can find someone else on whom the garment works, but having enjoyed the process of knitting it doesn’t mean I am doomed to wear whatever product results. Even if I don’t recover the wool for something else, the hours of recreation it has afforded me compare very well to what others might spend on other forms of entertainment.
Mater, Yes! I had a great time knitting it and will actually enjoy knitting it again because I really want this sweater in this yarn and this color. But otherwise I have never found it all that difficult to find eager recipients for hand knits that enjoyed knitting but not wearing.
Yes, Tina, the pictures are there and the knitting is the fun part anyway.
Yes, Nancy, I agree that the things we have created should be the most special things
Yes, Nancy, I agree that the things we have created should be the most special things
Oh Annie, Ive always admired your fortitude with un-knitting and reknitting. This one I want, but I admit that usually I find some eager recipient for my handiwork, happy at least that I got to knit whatever it was.
When I started grad school the chair of the department gave a speech about how in Native American arts that there is an intentional mistake sewn into every object. She said it was to say that what man makes cannot be perfect. This story was told to remind us that when we got our first B in the program that this would be a sign of the sacred. I heard her story and said B.S. The story inspired me to graduate with only A’s.
I am all for self-acceptance and finding the beauty in flaws but I also so appreciate what you said about “ot purchase something that is not perfect and does not make my heart sing why on earth should I settle for less with things I have made? I should not.” Good for you.
I love this post.
Bel, I have trouble with the people who use that same story to leave their projects unfinished, saying leaving a yarn dangling here and there makes it look hand-made. Handmade looks different than machine made anyway, why not learn to appreciate quality.
That said, sometimes I am not seeking perfection in every aspect of every thing in my life, it would be insanity to expect that
What a sublime colour. Glad you bailed, better to have a chic knit beret or scarf than a so so sweater.