Do you rip out more than you knit?

Moss does not grow under Michelle's feet.  She finished both the Christmas Stockings for her grandchildren.  All that's left is doing the faces. The duplicate stitch was coming out way to heavy for the eyes and nose.  I suggested safety eyes that are usually available in craft stores.  She couldn't find them there, but of course found them on Amazon. 

The two sizes she was considering were 4.5mm and 6mm.  We were looking around for a measuring tape that had millimeters when Michelle remembered that knitting needles are also sized in millimeters.  As bizarre as it may seem, we stuck needles in the face with two different needles of the corresponding millimeters. The experiment worked.  It was clear she needed the 4.5mm eyes.

Michelle test knit a baby hat for me that is designed to be super easy ~ no shaping.  The top can be gathered like above or sewn flat.  The gather leaves a hole that you cover with a pom-pom.

Then you sew the pom-pom to the diameter of the hole.

She had variegated yarn in "baby" colors for the pom-pom.  Too cute!  The pattern also includes directions for thumb-less mittens.  Both the hat and the mittens can be knit in the round or knit flat and sewn.  The pattern will be available soon.

Marjolijn is working on a pattern called Shaded Triangles Wrap. She is using 3 different yarns in the yellow-green family.  They are all variegated and two of them run thick-thin.  The colors will blend nicely.

Ilene brought me the two swatches I asked her to make in two different needle sizes.  I'm going to weigh and measure the swatches to determine the size of knitting she can get from the yardage she has.  I completely forgot the request I made of her.  It's a good thing she remembered!

Michelle is working on a holiday gift; a fisherman's rib scarf knit with madelinetosh dk.  It is wonderfully soft and squishy.  The only problem is that if you make a mistake, it can be tricky to repair. 

This sparked a philosophical discussion of fudging forward (of which I am a fan) or ripping out.  Michelle decided she rips out more than she knits.  It has to be perfect; she has a hard time knowingly leaving in mistakes. I on the other hand will fudge forward if the mistake does not affect the integrity of the piece, is too far back, and/or is not noticeable.  It comes down to this, these things will not keep me up nights. Michelle would lose sleep. 

Linda also feels she rips out more than she knits and was surprised we even asked the question.

I felt motivated to do a sympathy rip.  I started working on the Cinder Scarf with Berroco Vintage Chunky (Bulky: 50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon, 130 yards).  Thing #2 saw the sample at Westport Yarns and liked it. I had stash yarn and she liked the color.  But I digress, I thought I'd be smart (bad beginning, I know) and slip the first stitch of each row. I did not think it through.  Not thinking it through is on par with selective reading.  Anyway, it made it look sloppy, so I had a sympathy rib in deference to Michelle and Linda. They were appreciative of my efforts.

We were talking about "kids these days" and what they want to be when they grow up.  Linda came out with a very deep comment. It deserves it's own paragraph.

"Of all the things we think about being when we get older, the most important thing we should be is ourselves." Words to live by.

On that note, leave a comment about whether you rip more than you knit.