Whose Idea Was This Anyway?

We are gearing up in the store for a busy holiday shopping season.  Our theme this year is "A Hand Made in the USA Christmas (on a budget)".  You will be pleasantly surprised with how many items we have been able to collect with prices under $30!  We know that with the devastation Hurricane Sandy and the 'noreaster Athena (or Sandina as our friend Lisa calls it) caused, a lot of people will be shopping on a budget this year.  We have gifts items such as jewelry, art work, several styles of key chains, soap, tea tins, candles, more jewelry, chocolate covered cherries, window charms, little wind chimes for your car and much more.  We also have other gifts, all made in the USA ranging in price from $30 - $500.

Tempest in a Teapot specializes in wind chimes and jewelry made from reclaimed silver plate and glass beads.  These items are made in our studio/store in Point Pleasant, NJ. We also do custom requests if you have your own pieces of silver that you would like made into something special as gifts for the family (or just a little treat for yourself).  There is still time to have that special something made before the holidays arrive.

So onto my "Never Thought" for this post...or in this case "Whose Idea Was That Anyway?"

I've tried my hand at a lot of different crafts over the years, and I have tried knitting several different times.  I can whip out a basic scarf like there's no tomorrow,  and I have completed a sweater (and another one on the needles).

The designs range from really basic (my speed) to really complex.  MY problem with knitting patterns is how do you know when they are written incorrectly?  On the really complex ones,  the part that really boggles my mind is "Whose idea was it to try this in the first place?".

I only know what I know (and therefore what I NEED to know), and I don't know what I don't know.  So, you knit and you knit and you knit according to pattern directions until you have to required amount of rows (or length via the gauge).   You hold it up and say to yourself "I think I made a mistake".  So you patiently rip all of the rows out and start over again, this time diligently following the directions, making notes when you stop, until at last, you are at the designated spot.  You hold it up again thinking it will be perfect this time, yet low and behold, it looks the same (sound familiar?).

So, now did I make the mistake and not do a stitch properly, or is there a problem with the directions? How do I know?   Do I just put it down and hope the knitting fairy comes by to fix it, do I rip it out again, or do I just roll it up into a ball and throw it into the corner with all of the other unfinished projects?  I've taken projects to the local knitting store (where they supposedly know how to knit and read directions), and they just look at me like I've grown 3 extra heads (which in this case might come in handy) when I ask for help.

Front of First Sweater

Back of First Sweater

Well, they say to try, try again and here is my first attempt (or 5th or 6th because I get a lot of use out of my wool) at a sweater.  As you can see from the front view, I ran out of wool and had to pick up a new color in order to make it the correct length.  I can't tell you how many times I knit the arms only to have them be different sizes and lengths each time.  On the picture of the back, see the pattern of 3 different rows?  Well, the first row was a mistake, but I said to myself, "Self, let's just make this part of the design!".  So I added 2 more incorrect rows to complete my design and then kept on knitting.  The buttons are not correctly spaced, and there are a myriad of other errors, but it is completed and I do wear it.  Never thought it would happen.

Anyway, here is a link to a pattern that I think everyone that knits and wears boots needs to try.  I promise to post pictures if I get a pair done.

Boot Candy    http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/boot-candy-knitting-pattern