Lucy Neatby says......

When I said " Let the games begin", I didn't intend for me to have a false start, but I did! I know better than to change my mind midstream, or first cast on as it were, but I did. No pitcher ever starts to throw a curve ball and then changes his mind mid pitch to throw a fast ball. So why did I decide to change the pattern and the yarn I had picked so carefully picked out. And mere minutes before I was about to cast on my lovely turquoise yarn for the Monkey socks. Because I saw the lovely new pattern that Wendy designed for the Summer of Socks 08 and decided that I would join the others doing that one for my first sock. That meant I had to pick out a yarn to go with it. I decided to go with the gorgeous Ariquipa Lily Pond.



After casting on with the Turkish cast on, a new method for me, and from the toe up, also new to me, on two circular needles instead of my much loved DPNs, I proceeded on my merry way. All day. By the time I had four inches of the sock done, in the early evening, I knew deep in my heart that I had erred. The yarn looked terrible with that pattern. The lovely colours of a lily pond became ugly little lumps of colour with no flowing, no lily pond there at all. Note how lovely the toe area looks and then see what happens when the pattern starts:



We went out for dinner and all through the evening I agonized over what to do. Should I rip it out and possibly hurt the feelings of the lady who so kindly designed the sock? Or should I channel my inner Lucy Neatby ( a designer who claims you should rip out projects if you don't enjoy working on them ) and start something new. I have always been one of those people who finishes what they start, no matter what it is. I am a Virgo. I am anal. This is a huge decision for me. By the time we got home that evening, I was still waffling, when I had a call from Donna W. One of our Knit Nite ladies. She said the same thing as Lucy, if it isn't fun, don't do it. By the time I got off the phone, that is exactly what I did. I ripped it out. Right to the start! I decided to stick with the yarn I was using, after all, it wasn't the yarn's fault! I found another pattern on my to do list, Lace Rib sock by Charlene Schurch, and started that. It is a top down sock, on my DPNs and the yarn is flowing beautifully.



I am totally happy with my decision. And I have even come up with a new name for the colourway. Field of Lupines. I was working on it in the car yesterday and we drove by all the lupines of the side of road and they are the exact colour of this yarn.

I am off to shower and then to watch Wimbledon and knit. Let the games of Wimbledon begin!