Sunday 4 October 2015

"I need to talk to you..."

Oh. What had I done or not done now?
"It's not working out. It's still too big."
Oh. 
I thought we had it sorted out. The tension (gauge) square had been knitted and carefully measured. The maths had been done. 
A friend knitted a jumper for her son. The yarn is lovely. It is natural brown wool, still with the lanolin in it. No, it did have the lanolin in it. 
She made the entire jumper. I told her that it was going to be too big. She was sure  she  could "adjust" it. It was going to work. It just meant "a bit of fudging" and it would be "fine". Right. She knitted on to the end and then realised that I was right. It was going to be not just too big but way too big. It fitted her, not him. 
I suggested she keep it for herself and knit him another one but she sighed and undid it all - every last stitch. She wound the wool into hanks. She washed it and got the kinks out - and lost most of the lanolin in the process. She dried it and rewound it and started again. I told her what to do. I told her!
It is still too big.
The problem is that she found a pattern she liked. It's for entirely the wrong size yarn. I have explained this. Oh yes, she understands but...why can't she just adapt it? I explained again. Oh yes, she understands but....
This week we are going to sit down together. I am going to write her a new pattern. (I have a nifty little computer programme which helps with such things.) I am going to give it to her and I am going to take the other pattern away from her so that she will not be tempted to use it. I want her son, who lives in the northern hemisphere, to have it for Christmas just as she intended. I want her her to be happy with what she has knitted.
And, we are going to laugh over this because she is that sort of person - and I love her for it.
 

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