Friday, January 25, 2013

The Case of the Missing Stitches

For weeks I have been crocheting a shrug that was supposed to work up fast and take just a few evenings. It is actually a big rectangle that you fold in half and seam up the sides leaving openings for arm holes.

Sure that after all this time that I must be getting close to the 38 inches it was supposed to measure, I held my work up and noticed something terrible. Somehow I had been losing stitches on each row and the top was about half as wide as the bottom. I don’t think there’s a name for that shape, but it certainly isn’t a rectangle. And well, folding it in half and seaming it. No way. I wondered if there was something else I could do with it. I had had my doubts on how attractive the shrug would turn out to be - it’s rather a bulky yarn and might add to the bulk of the wearer, if you get my drift. So I had a back up plan. I would unseam it and add some kind of edging and make it into a lap blanket. Of course, that was based on me finishing it and it being the right shape.

This was supposed to be a simple pattern. It was all just single crochet stitches in the back loop of the previous row which gave it a nice ribbed look. I had been worried about losing stitches and had been marking the last stitch on each row (or so I thought) with big gold safety pins since I couldn’t find my stitches markers.

I looked at all those rows and thought of all the time I’d put in. There was a part of me that wanted to throw it across the room and hope it landed someplace where I couldn’t see it and would forget about it. But another part of me looked at it as a challenge. What had I been doing wrong and more important how could I make it correctly. It is the same kind of energy that I hope will get me through figuring out how to use unfamiliar programs to update our blog.

So, I began to rip out the stitches. Not only is Lion Brand Homespun yarn tricky to work with because of all the ripples that make it hard to discern one stitch from the next one, but it doesn’t like to be ripped out. The fibers hugged each other and fought me all the way. Once I had ripped out a full skein of the yarn, I set it aside and went to figuring out what I had been doing wrong before I started over.

I made a small swatch of ten stitches and as I made row after row, I counted each stitch as I made it, hoping it would point out where my stitches has been disappearing. I needed to figure it out before I started over as the shrug has eight-four stitches and there was no way I was going to count them every row. I always say crocheting is so relaxing. Well, not with yarn that you’re fighting with. But I was determined to triumph over the bumpy yarn. It took a couple of hours of doing swatches over and over until I figured out where I’d been going wrong. Most importantly, I made notes describing where to how not to lose stitches. The notes will come in handy because no matter how much I think I’ll remember, I don’t. It’s fine if you go straight through a project, but there are always interruptions and projects get set aside for awhile and when you go back, it is easy to forget what you figured out unless you have notes to remind you.

And then it was time to begin all over again. No safety pins this time, which it turned out hadn’t made it any clearer where the rows began and ended. The only thing they did was to give me a false sense of security so I didn’t do the obvious and just look at the edges and notice they were shrinking.

So far, so good this time. I am working with more confidence now that I figured out what I was doing wrong. Oddly enough I don’t regret having to do it over again because it reminded me of something about myself I sometimes forget. I don’t give up.

What about you? Do obstacles make you throw in the towel or do you look at them as challenges?

10 comments:

Planner said...

Sorry about your project! It's so funny how we enjoy doing something the first time, but if we have to redo it, it feels like such an imposition and has an entirely different psychological feel. I think we're all like that.

Sometimes I give up on things and sometimes I don't. It all depends on how important it is to me. I suspect in this case, I would have done what you did and would have wanted to figure out what I did wrong and ultimately finish the project.

May it be smooth sailing the second time!

Betty Hechtman said...

Planner, it was a good feeling to figure out what I was doing wrong for this project and future ones.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I admire your determination, Betty--and your creativity! I hope the shrug comes out perfectly next time around.

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, the rain just started up again and it seems like a good day to stay inside and crochet.

Monica Ferris said...

If you could see the drawer-full of non-completed projects, you'd have an answer to your question. But sometimes I do go back and restart or finish a project. And I find that making mistakes gives me something to write about when describing my characters' stitching.

Michelle said...

It depends on what else is going on in my life at the time, and what kind of mood I'm in. Sometimes a lengthy time out will make a project more cooperative.

Years ago, I knit my daughter a sweater out of Lion Homespun and it was beyond awful. I threatened to burn it, but my online knitting friends talked me out of it -- only because the acrylic would stink up my house. I did finish the sweater, which was truly awful. So of course she wore it to the knitting guild and happily told everyone her mommy had made it for her...

Betty Hechtman said...

Monica, it is always nice to know I'm not the only one with a bunch of unfinished projects. I like your idea about having your characters have stitching problems. It makes it more specific.

Betty Hechtman said...

Miohelle, I'm afraid when it's finished, the shrug is going to end up like your daughter's sweater. But even if it turns out ugly, it may be something cozy to wear when I get cold working at the computer or crocheting.

voicesusa said...

I love my hobbies, they truly help me to get through the week. I'll turn off my phone and get into my own little world and do some writing and play my guitar.

Unknown said...

When I do pick up the itch to crochet again I usually have a few I never finished. I usually work on those. However, most of my projects are for specific people and usually have a specific deadline. The only one I've missed the deadline on is a blanket (queen size) that is rather daunting. Originally my friend wanted it CA King size. Every time he'd get a steady girlfriend I'd pull it out and work on it. They would break up and I'd put it away. This went on for 5 or so years. Last year he got married and asked that I finish by their first anniversary. Well that was the beginning of January and I'm still only half done. Now I only commit to making baby blankets as I can do those while my husband drives.