After finishing the first version of the neckerchief idea last week, I thought I might step back and join the Ravenscar Cardigan pieces. Or pick up another WIP. Or finish something that’s been waiting patiently in a bag.
But of course… I cast on something new.
Knitting with Cumulus and Cashmere (already in the Skipton Studio coming to the website soon!) together is simply too addictive to give up. Light, soft, floaty… every stitch feels like a treat. And even though last week’s sample didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, the moment I put it down another idea popped into my head. So I picked two new shades and started again.
And the knitting flowed but then again, knitting always does. Even the “frustrating” bits, like a dropped stitch or missing a knit for a purl, soften quickly into the rhythm of the needles.
I often say this in the Skipton studio: “Experienced knitters make more mistakes than beginners.” We just fix them faster – sometimes so quickly you don’t even notice it happened. We “tink” back, re-knit a stitch, correct something on the return row… all without thinking. Beginners often imagine the knitters they watched growing up never made mistakes, but they did. By the time children come along, those knitters have usually been knitting for decades, so of course they’re quick, confident, and impatient to “just knit the stitches” themselves! Many a beginner has told me their mum, auntie or grandmother took their knitting away at bedtime and quietly fixed it.
But you *can* knit! Everyone can. And mistakes are simply part of the learning – often the fun part, once you start fixing them yourself.
(I’ve made videos to help with that, if you want to practise.)
So this new neckerchief design has been a bit like being in a warm, calm sea. One moment I’m floating peacefully… then a wave scoops me up and I’m flat on the sand – only to head straight back into the water because it’s too lovely to resist.
Here’s how the week actually looked:
Monday – Cast on the newest version. It’s quick and very addictive! I knitted lots while binge-watching Celebrity Race Across the World.
All week – I squeezed in rows whenever I could… tiny pockets of time, rarely more than ten minutes.
Saturday – And then… I took all of it back. Still not right in my mind. Everyone I showed it to loved it, but this one is my little nemesis – the simplest designs are always the ones that take the longest to get right.
I’ve changed it five times already this week, and I’m still tempted to start again with fresh balls and fresh eyes. That’s designing… and that’s also knitting. It gives twice: once in the soothing of the stitches, and again when the finished piece finally says, “yes – that’s it.”
Let’s see what next week brings!