Oh Good, A Metaphor.

Ah, the new year. Time for looking back...

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(Hairstyle courtesy of Gran.)

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And time for looking forward, too.

(Or, in El's case, ahead & slightly to the right. Stuffies styled by Am.)

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Yesterday, as I was reflecting on the past year, and the upcoming year, I was knitting. I've been scheming about a pooling* mobius**, and after much thought, I decided to stop thinking, knit a swatch, then jump right in. I think that it won't work in the way that's in my head - for neat pooling you need to have very consistent tension from row to row. The first round worked in a mobius is awkward - at the very least - and I can't see how a person could keep the tension even enough. (I've got a couple last ideas to work on though...)

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This is the mobius I'm working on now. It's a nifty little stitch pattern that's not quite exactly the same to both sides, but it's close. Despite my plots, the pooling isn't what I expected. I'm letting the colors do what they want; I think it's pretty enough that I'm going to finish it.

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As I was reflecting, and knitting, I got a little niggling feeling... a feeling that I'd done something wrong. I looked at it, and thought "No, it's fine." I knit another round, and realized that there was something wrong. I wasn't sure what, but it wasn't right. Hours later, I realized what I'd done wrong... or at least, I had a darn good theory. I got home, spent some time looking at it, tinked for about 3 inches, then decided to be bold, pull the needle, and frog my mobius back about 3 rows. Or so. I still wasn't quite sure that my theory was right. I figured that if I was wrong, well. I'd have a fresh start at the whole thing.

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After about 2 rows, I laughed. The yarn made an abrupt change from clockwise to widdershins, and I realized that yes, I'd switched direction in the middle of my circular knitting. I'm going to claim that the mobius had me a little confused, and the nature of the pattern. Whatever. It was a little fiddly to pick up all the stitches, but far less confusing than I thought it might be, and less fussy than knitting the first row. (The photo is after all the frogging, and picking up, and whatnot.)

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I'd been mulling my New Year's theme - I don't make resolutions, but occasionally I'll observe some kind of theme, or concept, or something. And I've decided to use the mobius mistake as a metaphor model for the New Year. (Unintentional alliteration.)

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Soooo... I need to:

1) Be bold - try new things & pursue new ideas.

2) If things don't turn out the way you expect; stay positive, and look at the actual results, not the difference between what I expected & reality.

3) Listen to that little niggling observer's voice. It notices things.***

4) Be brave & confront mistakes, and them work to fix them. Ignoring them doesn't make them go away.

5) Have confidence in my skills. I can do more than I think I can, and although I've proven that to myself before, it's a lesson that bears repeating.

6) Remember to laugh at mistakes that are genuinely funny.

7) It's both more efficient & more effective to move forward than to spend needless time browbeating myself over simple errors. (Also, much easier on myself.)

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And as always, I'll try stay aware of how very lucky I am!

(Heart melts.)

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*So the colors in a handpainted yarn all stack up & look a little like an ikat fabric. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, that's okay.

**A mobius is fascinating, knitted or otherwise. I was quite hung up on them in Grade 7, and now that I've learnt to knit them, I'm again enamored.

***Yesterday, the man came up from downstairs. He sighed, and asked me if I could try a little harder. I blinked, and looked confused. "The dryer vent hosing fell off the vent to the outside." I blinked. "That's why it's so... fluffy downstairs." I blinked again. "You didn't notice the dust bunnies?" Nooooo. The last three times I'd done laundry, I kept hearing that little voice suggesting that something was missing. 'Nope,' I thought, 'I've got laundry & water & soap & a little bleach. All in the right order.' I scooped the cat box to be on the safe side, even. Turns out, my subconscious noticed the lack of vent hosing snaking our from behind the washer. Darn. The man vaccuumed up all the dustbunnies. I blushed.