What I Did Today

In addition to re-organizing my entire yarn stash (and throwing away several handfuls of bits and pieces of yarn each less than a foot long - exactly what did I think I was going to use those for???), sewing buttons and "Solana Sweater" labels on these three sweaters, blocking another Solana Sweater (not pictured), and nearly finishing my Ringed Fang Socks (soon to be fangless), I also thought a lot about ripping back knitting, and why I don't really mind it so much.

Compared to pretty much any other kind of mistake one can make in life - like, say, a tattoo of your ex's name - knitting mistakes can be so easily fixed. Now felting is another story... but the knitting itself - you just rip it back, and do it over again, and nobody will be the wiser. In contrast, if you say something really hurtful to someone, even if you don't mean it, chances are you can't take it back, and the damage is done. You just have to live with the consequences, try to make ammends. Or if you smoke 3 packs a day for ten years and then get lung cancer, it's pretty difficult to undo that mistake. When I think about it in those terms, ripping back knitting is almost a pleasure. I have a do-over. I can fix my mistakes.

Besides, yarn this gorgeous is a pleasure to knit in and of itself, so frogging (rip-it, rip-it... get it? I didn't make that up!) and reknitting such lovely wool just means prolonging the delight. (Regardless, pictures can't convey how soft and lovely this yarn is to the touch - truly the nicest stuff I've ever worked with.)