Knitting Group? Support Group?

Leave it to Linda to provoke a thoughtful exchange.  I don't know how we segued into this; we began sharing our knitting idiosyncrasies. It was a cathartic conversation.  There is comfort in knowing people share the same issues no matter what they are.

To begin with, Linda was concentrating so hard on what she was doing that she lost her train of thought.

• Her big "aha" moment was that knitting bigger projects, like adult sweaters are fraught with problems.  Invariably she gets off track from the pattern and has to rip out.
• That being said, her current adult sweater is a more basic sweater style.  She's on the rebound from a different pattern that gave her a lot of issues.

Lois has her own set of rules/criteria (call them what you will):

• She shared the same sweater issue, hers had to do with fit. As a result, she is on a cowl rebound.
• No projects that require a needle below a #8.
• Stockinette Stitch is boring.
• She has a surrogate cast on for her (downside is if the surrogate isn't around when you want to start).

Diane:

• Diane was also dissatisfied with knitting adult sweaters.  Her gauge changes after her swatch and therefore fit was a problem.
• She's focusing on smaller projects.

Mary:

• No socks.
• She knits too loosely to choose any project that works on needles smaller than a #4, they don't make needles small enough.

Part of me wants to rally the troops and say, "Come on, you can knit a sweater.  We'll find the right pattern."  The other part of me thinks, 'If you've found your knitting bliss, go with it.'  This somehow makes me think of parenting teenagers.  You know, torn between giving advice and letting it go. Or as my father used to tell me "Pick your battles and don't die on a small hill."   
See Dad, I was listening.

For me, I think I play through the "pain" (sometimes literally).  I want to overcome the pattern by either figuring it out or modifying it.  Much like fitting a square peg into a round hole.  I rarely leave well enough alone.  (That parenting bell rings in my head when I write that.)

How do you approach knitting difficulties?  Do you try, try, try again?  Do you move on?  I leave you with those questions.  Post your thoughts.

We are way overdue for puppy pix.



Tucker is now about as tall has Boris. 



Harry looks like a small dog now. Yes, he is inside the table.  Harry is a problem solver.




Tucker, not so much a problem solver. 
 

 Sheer cuteness.

They are their own support group.