Designer Yarn Barf

When Knit Life Gets Messy

I’m in the process of designing two new patterns.

One is a theory I’ve been considering for nearly 4 years.  It’s about time, right?!  [Fun fact: if the pattern works out the way I anticipate, it will be a delightful way to use all of those yarn Advent Calendar purchases you will be making in the next month or two.]

The other is a summer sock design that incorporates a few elements that I love—lace, music, coffee, and sunrises.

Unfortunately, the sock is going through a few iterations.  (Though it feels like MANY iterations.)

Impulsively, it feels unfortunate.  When I have sessions of reknitting that look like this…

…it feels disastrous.

But if I take time to consider, maybe it’s not such a tragedy.  Perhaps that’s one of the benefits of so many mindless ladders of reknitting—one has time to wax philosophical.

One of the beauties of knitting—especially with plied yarn—is that you can fix your mistakes.

Did you work 10 rounds of garter when it was supposed to be stockinette?  Rip out those ten rounds and start a-knitting.  Forget to do a yarn over on the last round?  Simply pick up a stitch where it should be, and no one will be the wiser.     

With knitting, you can Fix, Fudge, or Frog!

Wouldn’t it be lovely if everything in life offered a redo option?

Did you say the wrong thing to your coworker?  Rip back time, and say the new perfect comment you obsessively devised later that day.  Drop a gallon of milk in the supermarket only to watch in horror as it slow-motion exploded in white waves on the sweet lady next to you?  Reforge the plastic jug, suck up all the droplets of milk, and carefully place the milk in your cart.

If only….

Yes, Yarn Barf (as I like to call that situation in the picture I shared above) can be frustrating and annoying and time-consuming.  However, it can also be a gracious opportunity for a second chance to get it right.

I’m reminded of these words from my favorite heroine: “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it… yet.” —L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I wish you a day full of no mistakes, or—at the least—mistakes that you can Fix, Fudge, or Frog.

Slàinte mhath and happy knitting.

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If you enjoy checking for others’ mistakes, consider joining Mountain Song Designs on Discord as a test knitter.

Head to this web address for all of my links: https://linktr.ee/mountainsongdesigns