Even the most experienced knitters have those days. You know the ones where nothing works the way you imagined in your head. The ones where you tell yourself the hat only LOOKS big but will probably be fine. The ones where you proceed to weave in the ends, attach a pompom to it, and then finally try on the beanie only to find that it is indeed HUGE and your ability to knit in complete denial is indeed staggering.
I had to laugh at myself because I definitely knew better. I've been knitting for 17 years and I've knit hundreds of hats. I knew it was too big. And I wondered why in the world I just kept knitting...and I guess it's because I just wanted to keep knitting. It didn't really matter that I would have to undo it all, I was enjoying the process, I liked the stitch pattern and watching the little specks of color appear. I wanted to keep knitting so I did. Unfortunately it didn't turn out to be a wearable hat for anyone, (we could have fit two heads in there!) So I did unpick all my ends, detach the pompom, and unwind the yarn.
I'm ok with that though, because one of the things I love about knitting is that mistakes are never final - the hat can be remade - in the correct size this time. The lesson I learned from this is added to my bag of “expert tips.” The yarn is not wasted but can be reused. Starting over is part of the process of creating and it's ok to just knit to knit. Sometimes the finished object isn't really the goal but the process of making is reward in itself. I've now started over and I'm still enjoying it.
Ester
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