I knit the last stitch, finished the shoulder seams, and lay the garment out to admire it. I’m disgusted. I pull the top on, and feel worse. I cannot even post a picture of the Ballet Camisole at this point. Ugh! There is so much more to be done. It isn’t time for this fat lady (okay, so lady might be a stretch) to sing. This is good on two counts. One, I cannot sing worth a flip. Two, there is still hope for this mass of stitches. Ah, finishing work is the favorite part of the process for every knitter, right? There are a number of ends that must be woven in carefully, and invisibly. This is going to be a bit tougher than usual. I’ve tried weaving in one or two, and the result has been woefully visible. This is my first time working with Royal Bamboo. Tips, anyone? There is blocking to be done. That does not bother me one bit. There is the crocheting to finish off the neck and arm openings. For this, I have mixed feelings. I redid the crochet bits on the neck of my Thorn & Thistle top. I like it much better. This gives me confidence. Then there’s the part that makes me feel incompetent. I attempted to help one of my Monday Night Knitting Buddies. Brittany is amazing. She’s a practically brand-new knitter. I believe that her first or second project was The DNA Scarf. Anyway, she had completed the knitting of her Soleil, and needed a bit of assistance crocheting the edges. While I was able to show her how to crochet, and tell her what to do, it wasn’t quite coming out to our satisfaction. All I could offer was, “Rip back and try again until you get the look and feel you like.” I wanted to be helpful and admired. I wanted to sound wise and appear capable. I wanted to do more. But hey, I was just offering up the advice for what I do. There may be a magical mathematical formula for it all, but sometimes I think you’ve just got to get a feel for things. I was able to fix Beth’s problem with the clutch she was knitting and will felt. Then when it came to sewing it up, I felt that my advice fell short. We shall see what happens. I guess it is good that it’s a felted project. So, why all of this not-so-sudden lack of confidence? Why all the worry about my teaching ability? It’s Sock Wars. Yeah, I have been following the first two rules and telling everyone about it. So what’s the problem with that? Some of my Sock Wars anxiety comes from the fact that I knit two socks on one circular needle. Huh? You thought that this might sound like an advantage. I don’t know that it will help me out or anything, but I do know that it caused something to happen. It goes something like this (edited to combine several encounters; not all of this is fact-based):
Monday Night Knitting Buddy #1: Wow! Look, Sarah is knitting socks.
Monday Night Knitting Buddy #2: Whoa! Are you knitting both socks at the same time?
Sarah: Yep
Monday Night Knitting Buddy #1: Let me look at that. Oh, I’ve always wanted to knit socks. How many needles are you using?
Sarah: It’s just one really long circular needle. They call it the Magic Loop. See?
Monday Night Knitting Buddy #3: Sarah is so cool. I’ll never be as cool as she is, nor will my knitting ever begin to approach her advanced skill level.
Monday Night Knitting Buddy #1: Sensei Sarah, wouldst thou honor us with lessons?
Monday Night Knitting Buddy #2: Yes, please, Knitting Guru Sarah! We are humbled in your presence, and desire for you to teach us. I don’t think I could handle dpns, but if you could impart your circular wisdom to us, I believe I could be a socknitter.
Monday Night Knitting Buddy #3: Please lead us into battle. The start of Sock Wars looms ever closer, and we have never knit socks before. Save us, Great Sarah! Two socks on one circ is the only way we can hope to survive. You are the lone practitioner of this most ancient magic. Please don’t let the magic die with you. Won’t you pass on your ways to the new generation?
Sarah: Sure.
Monday Night Knitting Buddies: (in unison) Thank you, oh wise one, our greatest hope is to be slain by you in the Sock Wars.
So, the upshot of this is I am trying to come up with a good way to show others how to Magic Loop 2-on-1 in such a way that they can do it. That, and to not break out in stinky stress sweat. Oh yeah, and to not make any mistakes, let alone plain old showing them incorrectly. I shouldn’t worry so much. I will do my best, and be sure to offer other resources that may be more helpful than I am. They all know that I am human. Actually, it has been discussed that none of these people exist, and that they are all figments of my imagination. If this turns out to be true, I don’t have to worry (at least not about teaching). I already know how to do Magic Loop 2-on-1. 
That’s right, just two more rounds from the charts and then the ribbing to finish these.
Beautiful socks! Potomoti or whatever, right? I tried 2 on 1 and went back to 2 on 2. I was intimidated and lazy. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou have the internet links, right? For 2 on 1, that is. You will do great. Don't worry about it (says the Queen Worrier.) All you can do is prepare and share. Then leave it to your friends to struggle through to victory -- as we all do. Good luck!