Comments: Moron alert

Talk about your patience with reworking stitches......more power to ya, sister! I would have thrown it in a corner of my living room while I considered (until Autumn, at least!) how to not throw up when thinking about how much knitting I had already done. But this is why you are a Knitting Goddess and I'm still not worthy!!
May the force be with you!

Posted by Kathleen at June 7, 2004 11:58 AM

I love knitting surgery! But 15 times? I think I would have frogged. And yes, I think it's the blue seeking revenge.

Posted by Loose Ends Melissa at June 7, 2004 12:02 PM

Though the blue may be seeking revenge, I love the colorful tank! In a way, it's inspirational. Yeah, the power of tools!

Posted by Vicki at June 7, 2004 12:13 PM

I cannot count the number of times I have done just what you are doing with this tank. And while I am doing it, I am always SO depressed because the stitches look so wonky and malformed. Fortunately the first washing takes care of that.

Be grateful -- the mistake could have been early in the cable pattern! (been there, done that as well -- usually with my husband muttering in the background about how no one can even SEE the error!!)

Posted by Laurie at June 7, 2004 12:30 PM

Clearly the tank is seeking revenge. It is time to stop over-striking the dreaded blue word. It may not be too late. It's next revenge may be worse.
You have more patience than I do! I'd have ripped the sucker back and sat up till 2 AM re-knitting it, cursing and swearing.
Barb

Posted by Barb Brown at June 7, 2004 12:40 PM

Steph - I too would have frogged. Inevitably after picking up stitches, something else would have gone wrong. Besides, I knit faster than I pick stitches up.

*Rooting through stash* Now what irresistable blue yarn do I have that I can pawn off on our harlot?

Posted by Aubergine at June 7, 2004 12:44 PM

I agree with Melissa. There is something so satisfying about stitch surgery. Everyone makes mistakes, but performing some insane feat of skill to correct the mistake is an art, all its own.

Posted by LauraA at June 7, 2004 1:01 PM

I think I know why knitting "purists" hate crochet hooks....

Anyone can frog. It takes a real harlot to do that kind of mistake repairing.

I once repaired a 15 row cable on a gansey over 20 repeats. I didn't make that same mistake again. ;-P

Posted by LisaK at June 7, 2004 1:50 PM

I did that, dropping 43 rows down, thirteen stitches on a mohairy-wool project knit tight for warmth--absolute misery to repair. But when I got all done! It was worth it. It looked so perfect. All was right with the world.

I'm so glad you at least didn't have to frog the whole thing!

Posted by AlisonH at June 7, 2004 2:08 PM

I'm confused. You refer to the tank as blue (not blue) the picture is purple, I saw one is green and one that looked khaki. What color is it? You are too funny! I love your site.

Posted by beth at June 7, 2004 2:31 PM

I would have stuck with perplexing decreases on one side - but then I'm a lazy s*d. Plus I rarely actually wear anything I knit, weird eh ? But you do realise that crochet hook thang was practically an A response to a C problem ? You're just working your way through the alphabet !

Posted by Heather at June 7, 2004 3:43 PM

I have to say, I really, really like the blue. The real colour of the yarn. I seem to have the same malady that you have, if it is indeed a malady: I reorganized my WIP stash in its chest of drawers by colour, and found that one drawer was bulging open with a dress, a halter top and two pullovers all half finished, all in blue, plus yarn for several more. In the "not-blue" drawer, one red skirt and one barely begun green cabled one huddle together in loneliness. And I just bought more blue yarn last week.
I don't think it's because we're both sad, I think that like me, you look absolutely stunning in blue. A knitting goddess doesn't allow things like little moods to mar the perfection of her work. Obviously blue is just the best colour to knit with.

Posted by jodi at June 7, 2004 3:47 PM

And do I remember correctly that you're knitting with Cotton Twist? Or was that the previous blue tank? Oh dear, I'm confused. I think I'll pretend that this is from Cotton Twist, because of the additional insanity of correcting all these stitches that will split every time they're touched by a crochet hook?! Wow.

I'm knitting a Cotton Twist tank, so this is all fresh in my mind (mine is rusty brown, nowhere near as fun as the Tank of Many Colors). I only dropped one or two stitches maybe 20 rows to correct split stitches. How come I didn't notice that tuft of rayon sticking out 20 rows ago when I can't miss it now???

Posted by Chris at June 7, 2004 3:52 PM

I wouldn't have ripped or repaired. I would have made one strap TOTALLY different from the other (maybe one would become a cap sleeve) and declared it a design feature.

Maybe you have to be tall to get away with it though?

Posted by Lizzy at June 7, 2004 4:36 PM

Golly. You have the patience of a saint. When I drop a stitch and it runs only three or four rows, I consider throwing the piece in the fireplace and taking up croquet. I couldn't imagine all that work 15 times over. I would honestly die.

But you're right. It is the blue getting revenge. Stop striking the color and maybe it will be appeased?

(I was just thinking, though, looking at all the colors it's been, how cool it would be to have a tank that randomly changed hues, like the horse of a different color from Wizard of Oz.)

Posted by Jae at June 7, 2004 4:49 PM

What a whack-job you are. The really scary part is, I would've totally done the same thing.

Remember the old standby retort, "it takes one to know one". Well, there ya go.

And I *so* need Photoshop.

Posted by claudia at June 7, 2004 5:34 PM

Sadly, I rather _like_ fixing something by laddering down and using a crochet hook to bring it up. I've even done this with cables and with Fair Isle, and I have a favorite crochet hook I live in fear of losing.

So far, though, I am defeated by mistakes in lace, which seems to demand frogging. (Perhaps this is why I am leaving the lace to my boyfriend.)

Posted by Rana at June 7, 2004 5:45 PM

I feel for you, I've had to drop down and rework like that a few times myself. I find that a small latch hook tool (I have one that I use with my fine gauge knitting machine) makes for much easier re-working of stitches vertically.

Good luck.

Posted by Marie at June 7, 2004 7:10 PM

How did you know that's what I was doing yesterday, too? My audrey's increases didn't work very well. It's only myself to blame and blame I did. So run, hook, hook, hook, hook, sit back and look. run, hook, hook, hook, hook, etc.

Ain't it a blast?

Posted by Rachel at June 8, 2004 7:26 AM

How funny is it that when I look at the pictures of the tank (of many colours) it doesn't strike me as odd anymore that the colour's always different? I'd like to see it in orange, please! haha
Nice work on the surgery!

Posted by carolyn at June 8, 2004 11:26 AM