Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday, with a sad tale of some careless and accidental unraveling.
I put a safety pin through the two cast-on stitches, rescued the broken piece of yellow yarn from the clutches of the ivy and untied the green end. Then I put it away to deal with when I was feeling calmer. I couldn't bring myself to take any photos of the tragedy.
I did fix it to the best of my ability over the weekend, but I think it will still require a bit more careful surgery so it doesn't unravel when it's worn. Since I knit this for Ryan, I really didn't want to gift him with something that would fall apart the first time he wore it.
But luckily, I had purchased two of these John Deere sock blanks, so I decided to use the second one and re-knit Ryan's Hitchhiker. I was surprised to unroll the second blank and see that it had been painted in the opposite direction so it unravels from the green end. I will be much more careful with this one (absolutely no tying it in the ivy or suspending the weight of the project from a strand of yarn!) and will use a bit of the yellow yarn when I get to the end to perform a more thorough fix on the first one.
So all's well that ends well. If there is a lesson to be learned, it just might be to always buy extra yarn!
I'm about halfway through Where the Crawdads Sing and plodding along with Middlemarch. They make good companions for re-knitting. It's like deja vu all over again!
What are you making and reading this week?
Oh, NO! I think I might have cried . . . in addition to the "utterances." At least you have that second "skein" -- and won't it be fun to knit again with the colors going in the opposite direction? (And what a perfectly clever idea to tie it to the ivy for the photo shoot. Who'da thought. . . ) XO
ReplyDeleteOh no! Gah! I might have cried too! But, I think your idea to use some of that yellow yarn when you get to it is exactly the right idea. (and as for the fix - it should be fairly easy if you think those live stitches like those from a provisional cast on - so when you have the new bit of yellow yarn, knit those live stitches and then bind them off and weave in the ends!)
ReplyDeleteBut, really - Dorothea is excellent knitting company and Middlemarch might be long enough to knit TWO Hitchhikers!
This is exactly what I was going to suggest to fix the first shawl!
DeleteOh wow, who'da thunk it? I'm glad you have another skein to make/fix things. But I would have been really annoyed, meaning it would have just PISSED ME OFF.
ReplyDeleteOh Crap! And Whew! Glad you could rescue it and get hold of those live stitches and thank goodness you have a second sock blank. I think it's cool that the second blank is unraveling in the opposite color progression - should be a fun knit (well, aren't all Hitchhikers fun knits??).
ReplyDeletebeautiful! and what a fantastic save of those two wee stitches - isn't it nice you saw the snag when you did? I would have been so unhappy if it then unraveled away..
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly certainly that I would have uttered something much more forceful than "gosh darn it" and I hope that you're able to fix the issue -- I suppose having left the tails on was a good decision for more than one reason!
ReplyDeleteThis Hitchhiker is really cool against the ivy and I'm so sorry it was damaged in the process of posing. I know I would have turned the air blue if something damaged one of my knits (if I could speak at all). You are intrepid to start the project anew on the heels of finishing. I hope your new fix will be strong enough that you can enjoy your own John Deere Hitchhiker and that Ryan will soon have one that's knit to perfection.
ReplyDeleteOh how awful! I give you kudos for having the stamina to knit another very similar Hitchhiker right away. I still haven't read Where the Crawdads Sing but it's on my list.
ReplyDeleteWow, you are really something to knit it all over again!
ReplyDeleteThe original was meant as a gift for my oldest son, so it's really not so difficult to knit it all over again. Plus, I'll have the first for myself once I finish this one and use some yellow yarn for surgery!
DeleteI'm sorry it happened, but it's gonna be easy to fix (see above!) ... just have to be patient til you get to the end of the second shawl. I am glad this #2 is a little different from #1 ... and that you've still got some good books playing in your ears!
ReplyDeleteWhat a rotten thing to happen! Thankfully you have that second blank to knit and will be able to make the repair and a couple of good books to help you through.
ReplyDeleteReally, it's all working out pretty well, and since it's a gift for Ryan, finding the stamina to do it again isn't so difficult. Now I'm having fun knitting in the opposite direction, and I'll have two Hitchhikers when I'm done - one to give and one to keep!
DeleteSo wonderful you could fix the shawl! And what a find: the 2nd skein is backwards! Lookin’ fwd to your finishing Crawdads...wondering about your take...
ReplyDeleteCheers
Oh no!! I'm glad you have a plan, though. And it sure looks great!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. I think you were quite restrained. I thought hanging it on the ivy was a splendid idea until I read your post. Good thing that hitchhiker pattern is so nice to knit and probably a good thing that the second sock blank goes in reverse order. A little variety will be good.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar looking hitchhiker but it also had a vivid purple in it. I think I gifted it to someone but can't remember. So sorry about the unraveling, glad you are fixing it. Enjoy your knitting time.
ReplyDelete