Knowing When to Fold 'Em

Snicket Socks
Originally uploaded by knithound brooklyn

Design: Snicket Socks by Sabine Reifler
Yarn: Classic Elite Alpaca Sox, Harvest #1858, 1 skein
Needle: #2 DPN
Started: May 7, 2008
FROGGED: May 14, 2007

Don't get me wrong. I love the yarn. It's gorgeous and really soft. And I love the pattern. It is a terrific lattice pattern, reminiscent of the Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood. BUT the combination of the yarn and the pattern did not send me over the moon. The yarn can stand on its own, with a simple rib pattern. And the pattern needs a solid or heathery yarn, not a self striping yarn.

So after about a week of knitting, (and to be perfectly honest, it was a week of STRUGGLING with the very fiddly pattern), I ripped this baby out.

The yarn went into the sock yarn bin and will emerge when I am ready to knit a simple sock. Which is soon. The pattern will wait...till the right yarn comes along. There's always Rhinebeck....wheee!

So here's what I learned from this adventure. If it doesn't feel right, if it doesn't feel good, stop doing it! Seems simple but for me, this is actually an important lesson. When I reflect back to the Noro socks I made earlier this year, I hated that yarn and wanted to quit almost every time I went to knit them. But for some reason I persevered and finished. I wore them twice. I know I will never knit with that yarn again. (except to use up the remainders in a blanket someday).

I've always been someone who doesn't quit. Who plows through stuff, no matter how unpleasant it is. But I am learning through knitting to do what you love. Now the trick for me is, how do I translate what I learn in knitting into the rest of my life!? More work to do!!