Well, I'm here to confess (again) that I made a major screw up with my knitting. Did you wonder why Color Affection was taking so long, why she had not made an appearance on the blog for a lo-ong time? Well, generally, that means a screw up. Maybe it's a flaw in my character, or maybe it's just a lackadaisical attitude, but if I can screw up my knitting, usually by not paying attention, I will. It's the just way I roll.
I've had a great time knitting Color Affection. It's been grand knitting the stripes, watching the colors change, and feeling Vicki's gorgeous yarn slip through my fingers. Why would I take the time to read the pattern when I'm having such a great time? I know, it's silly, and I thought I knew where I was going but, apparently, I didn't.
A week ago, I took the shawl to SnB, as I was very close to finishing the stripes. I wanted my friends to see how far I'd come but, while showing the shawl to Cheryl she looked at me and said, "You don't knit stripes until you run out of stitches, you only knit 16 sets." We decided to look through the pattern and sure enough... I sat there stunned.
Right then and there I took the shawl off the needles, counted the rows, and found I had only knit three sets of 3 stripes too many (which is a lot of knitting). However, it IS only knitting, nothing bad happened and ripping back didn't take long. Putting everything back on the needles, and getting back on track didn't take all that long, either. By the time we left SnB that night I had knit three rows of the border completed. I know there will be more mess ups in my future and that's okay. It is the process.
Enjoy your 4th of July Holiday!!
Thank goodness for grrlfriends!! I'm glad you're back on track and hope it's smooth sailing to the end. Can't wait to see.
I make some wild mistakes, too, and feel pretty fortunate when I'm able to get through a project without a screw up of some sort.
Posted by: Vicki | July 03, 2012 at 04:54 AM
It looks like perfect colors to finish for 4th of July! I'm glad you were able to fix the error and get back on track so easily even though it must have been frustrating to rip out so much knitting.
Posted by: Carole | July 03, 2012 at 06:03 AM
Too funny! That is something I would do. At least you don't have to reknit because of a mistake in the rows. You rip, and keep going. Better mistake. Have a great fourth!
Posted by: Laurie | July 03, 2012 at 07:18 AM
Oh, crap, Sweetie. I do that stuff all the bloody time!!! We are truly sisters in the fluff;-P Enjoy your 4th and stay cool!! I intend to hibernate til the sun goes down. I'm beginning to feel like a vampire.
Posted by: CindyCindy | July 03, 2012 at 08:07 AM
Good timing for SnB, so you hadn't gone further! O.O
Hope you and Smith have a great holiday. :)
Posted by: Chris | July 03, 2012 at 08:15 AM
I always thought sticking to the pattern as written can be quite boring! :)
I am almost sure you could have just left them there and continue to the edge as you will have leftovers of all three colors at the end of knitting the pattern as written according to my experience (CAx4), although it would have made your final Color Affection less asymmetrical! but I am sure not less beautiful!
Posted by: Rachel | July 03, 2012 at 08:16 AM
I made the exact same mistake of the 3 extra rows before going into the Plucky forum on Rav and confirmed my suspicions. I wish I had warned you to save you the frog fest. I think it should be plainly stated on the pattern as many, many people have made the same error. You'll fly along with the rest of it. It looks beautiful! Happy Fourth and Full Moon tonight too!
Posted by: Manise | July 03, 2012 at 11:47 AM
Oh My
I am knitting away and thought the same thing, that you just keep knitting until you run out of stitches. I had better check the pattern!!!!
Posted by: Carla McDonald | July 03, 2012 at 01:36 PM
Yep.....story of my knitting life too...LOL. It definitely is a process. :-)
Happy 4th!!!
Posted by: Kim | July 04, 2012 at 04:52 AM
Oh, I did the same thing without realizing it until now. Funny. The shawl is finished and I'm still alive.
Posted by: Marijke | July 04, 2012 at 06:21 AM
Thanks for the cautionary tale. I'm about to start that section now. Love your attitude.
Happy Independence Day!
Posted by: Barbara Seiver | July 04, 2012 at 07:21 AM
Back on track! You can do it - it's going to be a great shawl when it's done!!
Posted by: Anne | July 04, 2012 at 07:23 AM
Well, it looks terrific and you're having fun, so what the heck. :-) I hope your 4th is relaxing!
Posted by: jill | July 04, 2012 at 08:08 AM
Oh I get ya on that one. Looks lovely though and I'm sure the end result will be wonderful!
Posted by: Patty | July 05, 2012 at 01:12 PM
We've all, well at least the normal ones of us, been there on that little omitting the actual directions thing. I've decided it must be the knitter equivalent of the driver, often male, who says, "I don't need to stop for directions. I know where I'm going." And it knitting that often means you should be taking a handbasket, too. ;^) But, it is only knitting.
Posted by: Robby | July 06, 2012 at 03:47 PM
Oh, Margene. I can so relate. The reading-the-directions thing gets me every time! :-)
Posted by: Kym | July 07, 2012 at 09:05 AM
It can be so grumpifying when the directions you thought you read turn out to not be the directions at all...
At least it was an easy fix.
Posted by: gayle | July 08, 2012 at 09:42 AM
One of the nice things about knitting is that mistakes usually aren't lifethreatening! Good thing we aren't surgeons.
Posted by: Birdsong | July 09, 2012 at 10:13 PM
Grumpifying! HaHaHa.
I have done that same thing. Not with this pattern, but with 50 others!
Posted by: Ann in the UP | July 14, 2012 at 12:20 PM