"The clearest indication of character is what people find laughable." Goethe
I read this quote the other day and it got me thinking about how much little things can tell you about a person. With knitting it's the character of the knitters. I have so often observed that knitters approach their knitting in the same way that they approach everything else in life.
As an example, will you tear back many hours of knitting to correct a mistake or do you follow the theory that if a man on a horse galloping by won't notice the error you don't bother to fix it? I'm unfortunately the anal type who will tear back and I'm frequently jealous of the other type when I know that no one other than me will ever notice the problem that I absolutely MUST fix.
I try to see if it can be fixed by laddering back instead of ripping back. If not, I cover it with Swiss Darning, or look up another way. And if not, THEN I rip back.
ReplyDeleteI have to rip back. I see the error and it's all I see! Wanda
ReplyDeleteI started out as a knitter who often fudged it, but the more I knit the more obsessive I become about having the final product free of error -- UNLESS, it's a design error that I love -- in that case, serendipity is sweet!
ReplyDeleteFor me it depends on the project and degree of transgression. I sometimes consider it an intentional exercise in curbing my potentially obsessive perfectionism to force myself to declare something "good enough" and move on w/o correcting the (little) mistake. If it's blatant and affects more than my sensibilities, I will invest the time in doing whatever I must to make it right. Recently a friend asked me to finish a cardigan which a mutual friend was working on when whe died. I noticed one cable front and center that the original knitter had reversed. That's something I would definitely correct under normal circumstances, but this time I left it alone as a remembrance.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fixer. I've gotten really creative about it, though, so I'll rip down a column of stitiches and knit that back up... rather than take out the whold thing. Personally, I find this way easier, even with lace!
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the project, the recipent, and the error. If it is for me. I MUST fix it, because each and every time I wear it I will see the error. If it is for a grandchild and does not affect the fit or looks much I'll probably leave it alone, otherwise I'll ask my husband if he can find the error. If he can't I just keep going.
ReplyDelete95% I just leave it, hoping no one will notice or that I'll be able to weave some thread in and fix it. Every once in a while I go back and fix!
ReplyDelete