several years ago i wrote the following post to my blog, breckinridge diaries
I just can’t leave a mistake in my knitting. Even mistakes that only I know are there. I think that is why I have such a hard time finishing projects. I was working on my February Lady Sweater last night and I noticed a funny twisted stitch on the front, very close to the underarm. NO ONE WILL SEE IT but I will know it is there. So I keep telling myself that it will be tucked under my arm and I can’t rip back to the stitch because I MUST finish this sweater!!!!
I needed to get that out. I’m ok now. Back to finishing my sleeves…
i know many of you are laughing your heads off right now. this post was written/published in 2010 – long before kay and the YARN mart got me over my perfectionist tendencies.
what makes this previous post even more funny (or ironic??) is that i have become such a laid-back knitter. when i lead the knit a long at the YARN mart, regular KALers teased me that anything “would block out!” see that was my go-to for most any problem.
uneven stitches – it’ll block out!
wonky join – it’ll block out!
sweater too small – it’ll block out!
so many knitters (new, old and in-between) have to fight that perfectionist tendencies. and some people are worse than others. every stitch needs to be perfect. but so many of the things we think are mistakes in our knitting are simply small inconsistencies in our tension and it really will BLOCK OUT!
MuseumGirlKnitZ 
My mother used to say….a galloping horse will never see that mistake (whatever that means!) but I CANNOT leave one in, even if it means ripping out tons of rows. They drive me crazy. And you’re right most things will block out, but I still can’t stand it.
LikeLike
hmm, your audience must be so different than mine === do the grands care? they just love it! I have learned that while I see the flaws, others see the big picture and are in awe that someone could make such a beautiful piece!
It took me a long time not to sweat the small stuff and enjoy the creative moment —- and you can always make baby hats, blankets or snuggle blankets for animal shelters. They truly do not judge Barb
LikeLike