I just listened to Knitpicks Podcast #101, in which Kelley discusses knitting disasters with some other knitters. (BTW - it's the only knitting podcast I have stuck with - it's really very good!)
Anyway, it reminded me of one of my worst disasters, which occurred when I was 17 years old and working on my first fairisle project. Back then, I just called it a ski sweater. It was 3 colors - natural whitish-cream background with pink and black. It had overall patterning, but only used 2 colors at a time.
I quickly completed the front and back, not knowing that it was supposed to be hard and take forever. Then I had to go to the hospital for an extended stay. I brought the yarn and pattern with me, but left the completed pieces at home. I worked both sleeves at the same time - 6 balls of yarn all going at once!
By the time I went home, I had completed the sleeves to the armhole decreases. But to my horror, I had put the black where the pink had been on the front and back and the pink where the black had been. I decided it would be okay - a design element!!! I finished the sleeves and sewed the sweater together (with sewing thread! sigh!)
No matter how I tried, I could not live with the mistake. It bothered me so much that I knew I would never be able to wear it. So I took it all apart, frogged the sleeves, and remade them with the colors in the proper places.
It has taken me many, many more knitting disasters to learn that I am a person who can't live with a mistake in my knitting. no matter how determined I am to just keep going. I may as well start ripping the minute I discover a mistake because I will just be throwing good time after bad.
What amazes me now is that I still have this sweater - 42 years later! Agghhh!
