Friday, July 20, 2012

shoes, shawls, and repeat offenders

I really really like shoes. There is a pair across the street that are gorgeous, that are comfy, that are now half price. But even though they sing to me through the walls, I walk by every day without going in. I'm being a good girl.

And, truth be told, my mad money has been spent . . . and I feel really really guilty . . . because I did it again! I commit my most common knitting mistake--buying yet more yarn for a shawl I will never wear!

How did this happen?
  • One gorgeous yarn shop, 
  • three aisles of hand-dyed fingering yarn (that I cannot buy at home),
  • easy access to a credit card.
This shawl (knit in two days but too short in the tails and too deep in the centre) will be ripped out. The yarn is gorgeous so shall not be wasted. All I need do is create a shawl whose shape I will actually wear. That should keep me busy--and out of the shoe store.

 But in the meantime, I've been wondering . . . Why did I do this? . . . Why repeat the same mistake with as much eagerness as the first time I made it? What is it about this accessory that makes it such an exciting and repeatable mis-step?

And I've decided that buying yarn for a shawl is like buying another pair of shoes. I make a purchase, without getting naked, that I imagine will miraculously fix my wardrobe (and, by extension, my life).

I suppose there are worse delusions.

And did I mention that the shoes and the shawl match?








12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. You mean I should buy the shoes?

      Maybe I wrote this, hoping this suggestion was all I needed?

      Delete
  2. baaaah you deserve it!!! No remorse!

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  3. Buy the shoes! You deserve a little treat...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Okay, if they're there next week when I return . . . .

    ReplyDelete
  5. They match! It was meant to be.
    And look how much yarn money you saved by knitting the shawl twice :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. OH MY, that's the best rationalization I've ever heard!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The shoes match the shawl? AND they are half price? What are you waiting for? They almost have your name on them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love all this encouragement!
      I am back home today and will see if they are still available. BUT what I should do is work on that new shawl pattern--the shape I'd really wear!

      Delete
  8. At half price, if they still have your size (plus they match the shawl), the world is trying to tell you something. Buy the shoes.

    Now, which shawl pattern ended up too short and wide? I think you were making a pattern I was going to start. Would like to find out beforehand. If it's the one I think, the designer had an alternate wider version that I want to look into.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love Stephen West, but MY VERSION of his POGONA was too short and too deep. On the other hand, I had great success with his BLUEWHALE.

      What's really funny about this is that I TRIED ON THE POGONA in the shop and saw this for myself--but forged ahead anyway . . . struck again by the eternal optimism of a knitter!

      Delete