This is pretty funny that I’m writing another post (again) this week. This must be a world record, right? I’m going to tell you another story about me that I hope will make you laugh as it did me AND I hope it will make anyone feeling like their knitting skills are still “not good enough” will kick that notion to the curb.

Yesterday was a fairly miserable weather day. Damp and rainy and suitable for ducks and loons, only. We’ve had a lot of days like this in Maine this year. I was working my way up the front of my Lane’s Island Pullover by VersaciKnits and was getting excited because the end was near and I was eager to get to the pockets. I had knitted a few of the shoulder decreases when I realized that I had too many stitches and had another glance at the pattern. I had skipped over four repeats of the single decrease at the neck edge. Ugh!!! I looked at the neck edge and I pondered my choices – just forget about it and continue on, frog back to the decreases and do it “right”, or something else. I decided to do it “right” and frog back to the last decrease and reknit so that the neck looks more balanced when I go to pick up the collar stitches (I assume I’m going to do this. I haven’t read ahead on my pattern.) So, that was my first challenge last night.

I also realized that I had knitted almost all of the three balls of yarn that I had purchased for the sweater. Another glance at the pattern and I realized that I needed three balls EACH of two colors (a total of SIX) and I had bought three balls of the single color I wanted my sweater to be. For the love of … Pete?! Thank goodness I work in a yarn shop. This morning I went in and solved the problem by adding two balls of yarn to my layaway bag just in case and buying one more ball which should be enough for the two sleeves and any finishing that I may need to do.

It’s at times like this, after almost 40 years of knitting, that I find knitting at once humbling and hysterical. Knitting has taught me to laugh at myself. And I mean a real laugh-out-loud belly laugh. It’s always when I think I know what I’m doing that I tend to make the silliest mistakes. This one is one for the ages. (Here’s another one!) I’ve been teaching knitting for nearly 20 years and knitting for almost 40 and I still make plenty of rookie mistakes. In fact, the designer commented on my Instagram post last night, “I would say it was a rookie mistake, but we know you are NOT a rookie!!!” Truer words were never spoken. I’m not a rookie but I can still make a rookie mistake. AND that’s ok. I can … and did, laugh at myself and move on.

Last night I finished the first pocket and put the stitches for the second pocket on the needle, ready to attack it today. I’m one stitch short. It’s lucky I’m an “expert knitter” because I seem unable to count. II’m laughing again. HaHaHa.

Gone knitting.