“It’s humbling to start fresh. It takes a lot of courage. But it can be reinvigorating. You just have to put your ego on a shelf & tell it to be quiet.” ~ Jennifer Ritchie Payette
This project was simple enough. It was the one that made me get over my fear hatred of dpns — which is big cause I’ve declared ad nauseum on here how much I hate them — with absolutely no ladders!
I got to the point where I was a few stitches from finishing and that’s after I caught all of the dropped stitches then went merrily along without a complaint. But then I decided to try the hat on Ferdinand — y’all don’t laugh cause you know already that all my toys have names. 😀
It was kinda loose in the brim, and I thought it could do well with an image either done in intarsia or duplicate stitches. You know … to kind spruce it up a little. My friend Laurie didn’t care, she just wanted the hat, but I cared. It was fine the way it was, there were no mistakes showing, I could have given it to her. But I knew the project could have been better.
So I put my ego aside. I embraced all that it can be from starting over, then I frogged it.
It’s hard to start over. Sometimes in doing so, you have to either travel new, unknown roads or traverse again roads you’ve traveled before or experience a combination of both. But in my mind, knowing that you need to start over and making the attempt is courageous. It gives you, as one of my old professors used to say, “gristle for the mill”. This lesson can be applied to life, or a project. No matter which one, the object is the same — that starting over might take some effort, but it’s an opportunity to do better than you did the first time around. No matter how many times you have to start again.
D'NALI 
I’ve frogged so many projects even Penelope from The Odyssey gives me the side eye, lol. But I like to be a perfectionist when it comes to knitting certain things, especially if it’s for other people. Most people wouldn’t see the mistakes in what I knit unless I point it out to them or they knit themselves, but it’s the fact that I see them that bothers me.
That’s why we get along. I tried to tell Laurie what was wrong with the hat … she just didn’t see it! Kept giving me the side eye! 😀 Once I know, it’s hard for me to not fix it. It just is!
girl, I usually start over each project that I make twice or three times!!! I’ve been working on a sweater and this is my third time re-making it and I was past the sleeves, working on the body length! I was salty!!! But the way i see it, I am not knitting to be productive! I enjoyed each stitch that I knitted. This is my first sweater, it is an investment in yarn, time and I want to wear it for several seasons! I remember wearing clothes of my mother and I want to make quality clothes that will stand the test of time….
Starting over is great 🙂
I laughed so loud reading that you were salty. I just cant imagine sweet you being salty. 😀
I’m with you … honestly … I’d like items that are well made and finished. So if starting over is what we have to do … so be it! I’m restarting my Flax sweater this week coming up — that’ll be mad amounts of swatching and the second start for this sweater. But it’s going to happen though!
Hmmm…starting over. If it isn’t right to me, I just can’t go on with it like that. Whether it’s a mistake, technique not working, or i just don’t like the way it looks, I have come to embrace starting over in my projects. I desire a positive response to the finished product. I appreciate that there is an opportunity to begin again.
-Nizzy
It took me a while to get to the point where starting over is not bad but I’m glad I’m here.
I know the feeling. I’m a process knitter so I don’t feel any remorse about starting over if I don’t like how something looks. I’ve done that several times. It will be lovely.
Thanks Opal. I’m excited to make the mods to this project.
What!!!! You were theeeeees close to finishing! From one knitter to another, better to frog coz when you don’t feel the love, you just don’t feel the love, no?
LOLOL! I know right! But I agree … if you don’t feel the love, you just don’t feel the love.
I was about halfway through a baby blanket that had all sorts of problems (including being too big). The project was becoming a chore, so I frogged it yesterday and restarted. It’s SO much better now. I went from “It’s alright” (even before I realized the big problem) to “I LOVE it!”
I had a fear of frogging and that proved that it’s not necessarily always evil.
It was so worth it to frog, and I suspect you’ll feel the same way when you have that perfect project done. (Congrats on losing the ladders, too! That took me way too long to figure out, myself.)
I had a fear of frogging and that proved that it’s not necessarily always evil.
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I couldn’t have said it better. I would frog and forget it but now, I’m excited to see what the redo would bring.
It will be awesome the second time. Looking forward to this FO. 🙂
LOLOL! Me too! 😀