Free At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl–McPhee Page A

my heart sinks as I read “at the same time” followed by the directions for the neck shaping that I was to have done.
    It is not a waste of time to read ahead in the pattern; most sweaters need necks.
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    Failing to plan is planning to fail.
    â€” A LAN L AKEIN
    I f you are using a pattern with multiple sizes it is a good idea to circle, highlight, or otherwise mark the instructions for the size you are knitting. There is very little comfort for the knitter who has knit a sweater with a size small front and a size large back.
    You are excused from this rule if you know a small-chested hunchback you could give the sweater to.
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    The cure for boredom is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity.
    â€” E LLEN P ARR
    3 ways to liven up a yarn shop:
    â€¢ Loudly, and in a clear voice, say, “Circular needles are so stupid.”
    â€¢ Wait until the shop is crowded, then tell one person that today is the day that everything is 50 percent off.
    â€¢ Yell “MOTH!”
    Not that you could be bored in a yarn shop, but just in case.
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    Do not trust your memory;
it is a net full of holes; the most
beautiful prizes slip through it.
    â€” G EORGES D UHAMEL
    A few years ago, when I ran out of space for yarn, I started tucking it away, a ball here and there. A skein of silk in the gravy boat, some tweed down the sleeves of an unused coat, a whole sweater’s worth in the canning pot I rarely used. I feel clever, and now I have room for way more.
    I’m looking forward to getting older. As my memory fails me, I will get the pleasure of finding it all again.
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    Planning is an unnatural process;
it is much more fun to do something.
The nicest thing about not planning is
that failure comes as a complete surprise,
rather than being preceded by a period
of worry and depression.
    â€” S IR J OHN H ARVEY -J ONES
    I needed to cut steeks in my Fair Isle sweater and was perhaps overplanning and overconcerned. I realized that I’d slipped over the edge when I heard my daughter inviting over a friend.
    â€œHey, do you want to come over? My mom’s supposed to cut up this sweater and she’s really freaking out.”
    Sometimes you need to cut steeks quickly, before you become “entertainment” for the whole neighborhood.
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    The only really good place to buy lumber is
at a store where the lumber has already been
cut and attached together in the form of
furniture, finished, and put inside boxes.
    â€” D AVE B ARRY
    I overheard my husband telling some friends that I was not very “handy” and that the words “some assembly required” were sure trouble. Although I agree that the bookshelf incident last year was pretty ugly, I still think he’s wrong.
    I’m a knitter. My projects are the ultimate in “some assembly required.”
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    A work of art is above all
an adventure of the mind.
    â€” E UGèNE I ONESCO
    I know this will come as a shock to some of you, but knitting is a bit of a gamble. It is possible that you can knit a swatch, wash and measure it, carefully calculate your gauge, absolutely study a pattern, execute it with patience and perfection … and still end up with something unexpected. This element of risk is what keeps the more adventurous of us knitting.
    I will try to stay connected to my cheerful sense of adventure the next time an absolutely perfect sweater grows by 3 feet the first time I wear it.
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    Though we travel the world over to
find the beautiful, we must carry it
with us or we find it not.
    â€” R ALPH W ALDO E MERSON
    B efore I leave home on a trip, I plan to see all the significant things about the location I’m traveling to. I want to make sure I see everything I can. I do research and note all the places I want to see: places of worship, historical landmarks, natural wonders, and yarn shops.
    I will resist the voice in my head that says there’s no point in traveling to an incredible European