Less | A Knitting Lesson

It’s the last Monday of the month, which means Carolyn is hosting an official one little word link-up! Be sure to visit her and the other bloggers sharing their words this week — it’s always a treat to read everyone’s progress. I’ve been writing about my own word a lot this year, but this entry is a little different. Today I’m thinking about how to apply my mantra of less clutter, less spending, less waste to a slightly frustrating mistake I’ve made with a recent knitting project.

I finished my Junction sweater weeks ago but have had NO motivation to take pictures of it. That’s because it came out way too big and I was trying decide what to do. The truth is that I knew it wasn’t going to fit as soon as I finished the collar but I kept stubbornly moving forward, partly because I’d already spent so much time on it and partly because I didn’t trust my instincts telling me that it wasn’t going to fit.

I put it on as soon as it dried after blocking and: yup. Way too big. I considered putting it in my closet with the hope that I might wear it around the house? I don’t mind the baggy body but that collar would drive me insane, so no. I would never wear it. This week’s evening goal is to settle in with an audiobook and the ball-winder and get this yarn rewound and ready to try this pattern again.

Over the weekend it dawned on me that this sweater has been a good lesson on Less. In the past, I would have taken a few pictures of it(not on my body), updated its page on Ravelry, hung it in my closet, pretended everything was fine, and moved on to the next sweater. But now I’m thinking about:

+ Less clutter: I don’t want a sweater hanging in my closet that I’m never going to wear.
+ Less spending: Yarn is expensive and I don’t want to buy more yarn when I could be smart about what I already own.
+Less waste: I spent a lot of money on this yarn and I don’t want it just hanging in my closet and going unworn. Not only is that a waste of money, but it’s a waste of the yarn and not honoring the sheep from which it was shorn!

When thinking about it in these terms, the answer is obvious. And it’s a good thing that we love knitting, so what does it matter if I’m making the same sweater again? This pattern was delightful and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t check my gauge to make sure that wasn’t the issue, decide on a new size, and simply unravel this wonderful yarn and try again.