Small Things & Little Victories

There has been knitting.

There is a finished object.

Yes, it's another dishcloth, a modified version of the reverse mitered technique. It's a fast, fun knit, and as humble as it is, I rather like it.

In other areas, signs of progress are less tangible. For the past two weeks, I've been suffering a crise de couleur (crisis of color) related to one of my Long Journey KAL projects. It's another reversible afghan I designed specifically to move yarn out of the stash.

The afghan design is quite simple. It uses strip construction, and it's a rather quick knit comparatively speaking. I was ready to cast on for the final strip, when I realized the colors I'd chosen worked fine on paper but not in real life.

Throughout this project, I've made a series of color compromises (working solely from stash, remember?). Compromise is one thing. Eye-popping color clashes are another.

Progress slammed to a halt. Every day, I pulled more and more yarn from the cupboards to audition alternate combinations. I fussed. I tweaked. I studied, stared and stewed.

The only way to make this project work, it seemed, was to alter the overall color strategy and reknit two of the four completed strips. For some reason, I found that prospect demotivating.

Out of desperation, I rummaged through the stash one last time. There it was. One lonely and rather unattractive skein rejected in the initial concept phase. It just might work.

A dishcloth. A color crisis averted. Another deep-stash skein slated for use.

Sometimes, small things and little victories are the only evidence of progress. This week, I'll take them. And be grateful.


Pop over to Tami's Amis for FO Friday.