I fly through most knitting projects. Full size sweaters typically take me on average about two weeks. Baby knits can be whipped up over a weekend. A hat, just a few hours. So yesterday I thought about the dress I was knitting my goddaughter and I wondered why it has taken me 2 months and I had only gotten about 4 inches of progress made. I didn’t like the pattern. So I looked at the project and looked at what else was in my library and I said this shouldn’t be this hard and I frogged it!
I felt such a wave of relief when I did that. And then I decided to make the Summer to Fall dress instead and you know what?
Last night I got all the way up to finishing the back panel of the dress! That’s about 10 inches of knitting that I finished and in the last 2 months I could barely get through 5 inches in the other pattern. All I’ve got left is the front of the dress to knit. It’s like a block was lifted. I wasted all this time because I felt like I needed to finish something and then realized I was the only person putting that pressure on myself. I can always just knit something else if I don’t like it. And once I let go of what held me back I was moving full steam ahead. So I hope to finish this over the weekend and then I’m thinking about knitting a few toys after making Wasabi the Whale the other weekend. It’s also Bark in the Park for the Nationals at the baseball stadium so we’ve taking the dogs on an adventure and seeing how they like baseball. Wish me luck and say a prayer that Cher is a polite dog the entire time we’re there.
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Yards of Happiness 
Good for you! I’ve had the exact same experience before, and it truly is liberating. Have fun at the game! And take lots of Cher and Jelly pics, please. 🙂
I’m going after work today to see if I can find Jellybean a tiny Nats jersey and a bandana for Cher (she’ll overheat in a jersey). LOL Lots of adorable dog pics to come for sure.
Knitting is all about the joy of the craft and the emotional well-being of the crafter, so if you’re not feeling it then you did the right thing, good for you! I’ve come to believe that all the good/bad feelings I might be having at the time I knit projects, comes out into the finished piece. Crazy, right? I guess I believe in putting only good vibes into every finished piece, so if it doesn’t feel right . . . there’s always another project. 😉
I think you’re right. I only want the good vibes in the stuff I make and unfortunately that original dress was pissing me off. LOL This one I’m sailing through!
The new pattern is definitely darling! Those little wings on the shoulder straps are a great design feature. I understand you wanting to make a box pleat, but that other pattern just isn’t the one. Good for you making the change.
I hate giving up on a pattern but this just wasn’t the one. Plus the ruffles/wings on the shoulders are too darling to pass up. And this is going by so quickly! I’m making the 2T size and I’m almost finished after 1 night of knitting!
I have that pattern in my Rav faves. It’s so cute with those little leafy, wing-like straps. Good for you on moving on and keepin’ it real. Why be miserable knitting?
My thoughts exactly!
Have you ever enjoyed the process but not the project? That happened this year with an MKAL shawl. I liked learning the techniques but I did not like the shawl itself. It took me quite a while to give up the ship, but I felt so much better when I did. I’m not inspired yet with a different pattern, but I’ve found that yarn seldom runs away. 🙂
Usually if I’m learning something I enjoy it but this just wasn’t enjoyable
Reblogged this on Yarnsage and commented:
I know from experience that frogging a project is the worst but is sometimes necessary to get an object that is aesthetically pleasing to the recipient.
That’s why I don’t want to crochet/ knit things for sale or as a regular contribution for any charity and I’m lucky that I don’t have to earn money this way. My projects are for me to relax and enjoy the process and I am free to give up if I don’t “feel” the pattern just like you did. Otherwise it could become a burden rather than joy. Good for you to listen to your own intuition!
Yeah I don’t want it to be a burden.
As ye knit, so shall ye rip. That’s my saying. I’ve started a few projects that just didn’t work or started to look funky (and not in a good way) and have ripped them out. Oh sure, there are some that I’ve finished thinking, “It’ll be better when it’s blocked,” but it’s better to trust your instincts.
I’m glad I did. I’m almost finished with what I decided to knit instead!