Slipping into Madness

G2: Paint the White Roses Red

Mistakes happen. Some beyond our control. Create a blog entry (or static item) telling of such a time(s) that has happened and what you did to rectify the situation (if any). (<1000 words)

Over last week, my mother and I did some teaching. Mama was the primary teacher, but I was the helper. We were teaching brioche, which is a knitting technique that creates a very cushy, soft fabric generally in two colors.

We had six students, and generally they did well. But any time someone learns a new thing, whether a knitting technique or something at school, there is a potential for mistakes.

One of the students was having a frustrating time of it, partially because she'd missed the first day because of a misunderstanding on her part, partially because of a language barrier because English is not her first language, and partially because she is a fairly new knitter.

After the third row that ended with the wrong stitch (in this case we counted: knit two to start, slip with yarn over; brioche purl; slip with yarn over; brioche purl; to the end of the row. Just before the final knit two, there should be a slip with yarn over because that's the stitch the row started with), we were both laughing with frustration.

I took a look at her knitting and told her that her basic problem was missing yarn overs. In brioche, any stitch that is worked has two loops (the slip with yarn over). If the knitter notices that she's getting off, which isn't easy for new knitters, adding that yarn over isn't difficult. But if she accidentally doesn't notice that she's brioche purling a slipped stitch and a worked stitch instead of a slipped stitch and a yarn over, all of a sudden, there are major problems with the knitting that are really hard to fix.

Because brioche is difficult to fix. To back up, each worked stitch has to be turned into two stitches by finding the two stitches that were used to work it. And yarn overs are notoriously easy to miss. And all of a sudden, the whole sample is a mess instead of a series of neat, brioche columns.

My student was remembering the yarn overs in the middle, but in the transition from the knit two borders to the brioche, she was losing them. And because she held her yarn in her right hand while I hold it in my left, it was difficult to show her what she was doing in a way that was understandable.

So, frustration all around. We had a bit of an easier time once we switched to two color brioche because it was easier to see which stitches were the slipped stitches in the row before, but there were other issues then. Finally, at the end of the class I turned to her.

“You are getting this.” I told her. “I think that it's going to click for you in another ten rows or so. We're out of time, but I know you're going to get it.”

She lifted her tangle of knitting and said, “You think so?”

“Just remember one thing. Any mistake you make in knitting is just a technique that you haven't been taught, yet. Don't get frustrated. Just relax and keep that for later.”

She laughed at me, but I was serious. All the mistakes that young knitters make, dropping stitches, accidental yarn overs, forgetting yarn overs, knitting more than one stitch at a time, slipping a stitch instead of working it, purling instead of knitting (or vice verse), or knitting through the back loop instead of the front . . . all of those things are things I've done on purpose in my later knitting.

Which makes a good metaphor. I try to remember when I make real mistakes—the fact of the mistake isn't as important as the things I learned by making that mistake. It's not a mistake it's a design element. It's a learning experience. It's something that will be important later.

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