You Have Permission to Change the Pattern

Good Morning!


The new week has started and here in New York it is a grey and drizzly day. All the better to knit my dears!
All of those daily chores can wait while we take some time to knit a few rows. Grab your beverage of choice, shut off the phone and computer and enjoy the silence. The only sounds heard is maybe the ticking of a mantel clock and the gentle "click" of needle tips as they touch one another.


I wanted to talk about making changes while knitting a comercial pattern. Yes, it is allowed and as a writer of patterns, I would encourage you to do so. There are many reasons why it is a good idea. First, it gives you the opportunity to make it yours. You also might know a better way of doing something that makes more sense to you.
There is also the learning aspect as well. What I mean by that is, maybe you need to have more or less shaping in that sweater you are knitting. This "need" might require you to do some research in order to execute these changes.


This is a good thing. Do what you fear and courageously pick up your yarn and needles and make the leap of faith. What have you got to loose? I don't know about you, but I find myself ripping out stitches or rows because the change I planned didn't work or maybe I didn't think it through enough. Whatever the reason, ripping is not a totally a bad thing.


Let me give you an example of a simple change. I recently finished a baby blanket for a co-worker who is expecting. It is a log cabin style blanket which is similar to a log cabin quilt. I'm sure most of you have seen one. I did purchase a pattern on line, so I didn't have to think, just knit. I also like to support other people who sell their things on line as well. Anyway, I didn't even read it, just went to the yarn shop The Perfect Blend, yarnandteashop.com and picked up some wool and jumped in.


The pattern was written to bind off stitches and then pick them up again. I chose not to do this because this method will create a bump or ridge that really doesn't need to be there. I gathered up some extra needles 24 inches and longer to hold the stitches that were to be bound off. That way when I came back around to them, I had only to knit them off their "holding" needles with no stitches to pick up.


The second change I made was to add a border all the way around the blanket. The resulting frame really looked like a quilt block. These were small subtle changes that made my work a little neater, but also, so much faster. Let's face it, binding off and picking up stitches is time consuming.

JT is getting ready to have his mid morning snack, toast with cream cheese. I put it in the toaster oven and he turns it on "by mines self!" Got to go, toast is ready!