May I sit with you a-while, please, and knit?
(I know, I promised posts on Salts Mill and the tatting workshop – they’re coming.)
Today has been one of those days when you end up with less yarnery than you had at the start. Do you ever have days like that? I’ve been working on creating a design using Stylecraft’s new yarn (‘Tweedy’). But it just was not working. Would you like to take a look at my failure? (I can’t believe I’m doing this. Will you still respect me in the morning?) OK, here is a close-up on failure. Even the photo is rubbish quality:-
But I kept knitting anyway, at furious speed, in the hope that I could outrun failure. IF I KNIT FAST ENOUGH, FAILURE CAN’T CATCH UP WITH ME! I loved the Tweedy combined with this Stylecraft Special shade, and I’d convinced myself that there was enough contrast between them to work a stranded design. Here’s the ol’ take-a-black-and-white-photo-to-check-for-contrast-when-you-knit-stranded technique. Hmm, it’s not brilliant:-
And the design was wrong. The combination of shades was wrong. Everything was wrong.
Back to the drawing board.
Version two is looking much more promising, and the design is way better. But there’s not a whole lot of knitting to see just yet.
Anyway, this is not the week that we as a family were expecting to have. I mentioned ages ago that the twinnage were booked to share a non-speaking role in a major film that’s being shot at Pinewood Studios this summer. All very exciting, but a lot for a pair of shy six-year-olds to cope with.
It’d be fair to say that all did not go to plan. They coped with the costume-fitting (oh my goodness, their costumes were adorable), they coped – sort of – with their orientation visit to hair-and-makeup, despite the fact that there was a dog there. And come the first day of filming, the Stoic Spouse and I successfully levered them out of bed at an hour so obscenely early it began with a ‘5’. Shortly afterwards, I was on the motorway with both boys, feeling optimistic. And when we got there – wow, is Pinewood fascinating, and vast – there were pains au chocolat waiting for their breakfast, which is the boys’ idea of morning heaven.
But when it came to saying goodbye to me and heading off with their chaperone, it was an emphatic nope from both of them. I could see real anxiety in their eyes so I didn’t push it too much, because stuff like this is supposed to be fun, or at least it is when you’re six years old. (There’ll be plenty of time for them to discover the joys of workplace stress and anxiety once they hit adulthood, I’m sure.) We tried once more the next day that they were due to be filmed, but nope.
So that’s that. But on the plus side, I don’t have to set the alarm for any time beginning with a ‘5’. So that’s a win, at least.
Now, back to the knitting.
That doesn’t sound like too much of a fail to me. They managed to get the part. If it didn’t sound like fun on the day, then good for you for not pushing it. ?
I hope they had an exciting time seeing the studios and munching on pain au chocs!
You get around a gazillion super parent points for not pushing them. It must have been really hard not to find a way to justify having them go on – I am not sure that I could have let it go and you deserve many, many hugs for doing so.
Why couldn’t you go with them? Whatever the reason they wouldn’t allow you to go with them you did exactly right to say never mind, we’ll just go home then. May have been the photo, may be that I don’t have your inner vision of what you wanted the knitting to turn out to be… but it looked fine to me… knit on. 🙂
Applause!! You were the bestest mommie!!
Kudos for giving your boys the most positive experience you could. On the knitting front, only you know what you can see in your mind’s eye re the new yarn and the pattern so the rest of us admire you for your creativity and only see something lovely ?
I’m working my way through your ‘Dear under the trees’ pattern and love the whole thing. I haven’t ever attempted colour work like this before so it’s a real challenge. Thank you xx
Well how silly that you weren’t allowed to go with them. Never mind, staying in bed sounds more fun. Can’t wait to see the knitting project.
There is no such thing as a knitting failure! There is an idea that did not quite work as you thought it should.
Splendid parenting not pushing the twins and yay to no more 5ish get-ups
I’m looking forward to seeing more of your creation!
As a spanking new knitter who has taken up the torch with a vengeance and is learning to knit mitre squares from homespun yarn (with a view to knitting Steve a jumper and knitting socks) I WISH I could fail like that! I think that in the future, when you are reminding the boys of how famous they could have been, it would be wise to revise the wording of the cautionary tale to ensure that you get the maximum mum and dad points out of it (remember, they will be picking out your nursing home…) something along the lines of “Well you two were bolshie little buggers and we tried our damnedest BUT at the end of the day we love you too much to force you into doing something that you didn’t want to do and as parents, even though we knew that in about 10 years time you would regret the heck out of this, we didn’t force you into it. We sucked it up and allowed you to make your own choices”… thus you can rest on your laurels, a glowing halo shining about your countenance whilst they will no doubt be twitching at their childhood folly. Some serious parenting points RIGHT there 😉
Can’t wait to see the finished design.
Sad that the twins won’t be visiting my very friendly dogs 🙁
Thanks. (And if you’d genuinely like visitors, we could still come…) I hope you’re recovered from the lurgy, and that Oslo was properly amazing.
Looks inspiring. It’s on my list for a visit – soon!