#madtosh

I had every intention of making this to wear in my mom’s wedding in August, but suddenly it’s the second half of July and I’m only 1/4 done. I just haven’t felt like knitting anything complicated, and I’m getting my fix with the Temperature Tracker Shawl. But I finished hemming my mom’s dress today so maybe that subconscious, fully-internallized rules gremlin will stop shrieking ONE PROJECT AT A TIME, YOU KNOW THE DRILL!1!

(Because I’m a Gemini and the only think keeping me finishing projects is an ironclad personal rule that I need to finish* what I’m working on before I start the next thing)

Yarn: tosh merino light in Grasshopper

Pattern: Leaves of Grass by Jared Flood

I’m interrupting the usual comics rambling to say I just finished blocking this knitting project and I honestly think it might be the most beautiful thing I have ever made with my own hands.

“Masterpiece” has taken on a different connotation in modern English, but historically it meant the piece that marked a journeyman’s ascension to master. It’s the product of decades of work and study and constant mistakes that culminates in a single artifact. I have only named one other project a true masterpiece. This is my second.

I have been knitting for almost twenty years. It is one of my first crafts and the only craft I have truly mastered. I still have a lot of learning to do. (My stranded colorwork still needs some work, and intarsia boggles my mind.) Still, I can proudly say that I have reached a depth of knowledge and experience that gives me the confidence to try just about any knitting technique without fear.

Part of that experience comes from repeated failures. If I have learned one thing from knitting, it’s that failure is the best way to learn. Having to physically untangle my mistakes and rework the same pattern over and over again until I get it right taught me how to accept and learn from mistakes. Everything is fixable within reason. But you can’t overwork or strain the yarn to force it to do what you want. Repairing mistakes takes a gentle, understanding hand.

Even as a self proclaimed “master” I had to restart this project four times. Turns out, part of the problem was my eyes are getting worse as I get older and I needed glasses to better read the pattern and actually properly see what I’m doing. Once I got glasses, things became much easier.