Lesson Learned

Here is what you may not do as a novice knitter.

You may not, when approaching the first tricky part (neckline shaping) of your first sweater, attempt to make progress while also watching an absolutely engrossing documentary about the "golden age" of Broadway.

If you insist upon doing this, you will wind up with a neckline which you might politely describe as having the airy quality of lace. Or you might impolitely describe it as more full of gaps than swiss cheese, or as lopsided as the Tower of Pisa.

Live and learn. Tomorrow, the neckline gets ripped out and started over. At least I did shape the arm holes properly. I think. They look like the pattern, so I'm going to assume they're correct.

I do think it's funny how different people are when they knit. A fair number of the girls at Stitch 'n' Bitch seem content to knit one scarf after another, changing yarns and occasionally doing ribbing or seed stitch but nothing more complicated. Me, I'm surprised to find I'm not even pissed off at having to undo what I've done and do it over again. Instead, it's fascinating, and feels more rewarding than if I'd stuck with simpler projects that I could have finished without much thought or error.

I don't think that means I'm any better than the scarf knitters - it's just interesting how different minds find comfort in different aspects of the same process.