I Can Not Believe It!!

Okay, so everyone who knows me, knows I can not follow instructions when I knit or crochet…you know who you are…don’t laugh. I tried to make mittens following instructions and they turned out fine! Surprise to me. Yeah, so what that they have gaping holes and won’t keep you warm, I did follow the instructions completely. Used the right yarn and even the right needles…which probably was the reason they were so “holey.” It was a chunky yarn. But the point is, they came out right!

So, buoyed by the fact that the mittens were good…and much encouraging from my fellow KnitWits, I decided to try another pair of mittens using smaller needles and a less bulky yarn. Lo and behold, they came out fine…snug and warm with no holes! I was amazed that I could follow the instructions and even make something that looked like the picture.

So, still basking in the afterglow of success, I decided to make another pair. Hey, the third time is a charm. Once again, I got the right yarn, Homespun, the right needles, size 6 and began. Now, let us back up here a bit. When I made the mittens, I made the two mittens at the same time on the one set of needles. This way, I have them the same size…remember, I am a novice at instructions following. Anyway, I had two matching skeins of Homespun…or so I thought. Yes, I did check the lot numbers and all that information…that much of a novice I am not. I started the two mittens, side by side on the needles. It was going well till I noticed the colors seemed off. One mitten was “blueish” and the other was “brownish/red”. I was just finishing the cuffs when I paused and looked. To my horror, they weren’t the same color. They were variable yarn but they weren’t matching at all!

Next, I dug in my yarn stash and found another skein, same color, same dye lot and all the same numbers. I quickly started a third mitten with this yarn after carefully looking at it and matching it with the already done cuffs.

Bottom line, it doesn’t match either!! So now I have three mittens started, cuffs done, and not one of them matches!

Moral of the story, reading instructions doesn’t work!