You know, theories are grand. Examples are wonderful. Practice makes perfect. But eventually you’ve got to shit or get off the pot. So last night, spurred on by all your accolades for my magic act, I settled down to fix the last cable on my swatch, then move onto my sweater.
Wouldn’t you know it! I FUCKED UP THE SWATCH! I’m not sure what happened, but I did everything exactly like I’d done before and yet there were two pieces of yarn that crossed the bottom cable – I don’t know what they were, I don’t know why they were – but I cut them in an exploratory surgery kind of way and got the fix to sort of work (big holes because I ended up ripping out more than the three stitches across the top.) Great. Just great. My dress rehearsal was a frigging bust. Now what to do? Could I really perform on opening night? When you get no other chances?
Janice told me yes. CUT IT, JUST CUT IT! And to call her when it was over.
I swear to Bacchus I felt nauseous. But I kept telling myself if I messed it up it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Sure I’d risk humiliation in front of all of you – you’d know me for the fraud I really am – but I could live with that. Sort of. I mean, really, I could just take the blog down and disappear. And the sweater, well, the sweater could be reknit. Which is what I thought I’d have to do from the beginning.
So I did it.
And the fucking thing actually worked. Honestly, unless I turn the sweater over and look for the tell tale ends, I don’t know where I fixed it.
I believe in MAGIC!!!
Then:
And now:
On to the sleeves!
*It’s National Use Your Yiddish Day! Just ask my favorite Jewish girls, Margene and Ann
Mazel tov! How’s that? Your stress over the cables was making me shvitz! Oi. (go ahead–laugh a the little Catholic girl!)
YEA!!! I am glad that it all worked out for you.
I will have to brush up on my Yiddish. It’s not real common here in MN.
Mazel tov!!
CONGRATULATIONS! That must have been nerve-wracking to have everything go right and then … not…but so glad to see it went well on the sweater.
Awesome!!
Congrats!! I’m glad that’s over! =)
Congrats!! You continue to reign as my hero:)
Excellent! (btw, that link I sent you yesterday? another librarian has weighed in on the film in the comments and also had good things to say)
Mazel tov! Your fix looks great. They could have used that for the Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2002 cover. I was told about that mistake last night and wrote about it on my blog today.
Congrats it’s a properly turned cable! You rock Cara!
And you know you can never take your blog down, because we all would hunt you to the ends of the earth, cause we love you that much!
Whew! I don’t know if the knitting world can take all this excitement.
Are you still calling this sweater Mistake Park?
Woohoo! You did it. Yahoozie. It looks fabulous. From your “after” photos, it’s even hard to tell on the back that there was ever anything wrong there, or that it’d been fixed. You go, girl.
Oy.
Thank goodness! You used up the crappy try on the swatch! Hooray for beautifully fixed sweaters!
~*~*Happy Dance~*~* Go Cara! Go Cara! I didn’t even have to say Oy Vey!
Congrats! Sometimes diving into the deep end of the pool is best way to learn to swim. Have fun with the sleeves!
Oy vey! You’re a brave woman Cara! Mazel Tov on a job well done!
It’s beautiful and no, you can’t tell at all. Girl power!
Aren’t you marvelous?! Oh happy day! (I’d say mazel tov, but everyone else already did. Still, I’m feeling it.)
It looks great! All that kvetching was for naught!
🙂
You are a mensch. Sometimes you’ve gotta be a meshugenah and kvetch before it all turns out ok. Nice job. I hope you are kvelling!
OK – I don’t know what that title means, but it should translate to something like “Cara is the Goddess of fixing Rogue Cables!” Wow! Mazel Tov. Congratulations. Kudos. Way to go GODDESS CARA!
Woo! Let’s do the dance of Joy!
I’ve been following your saga from the beginning. Great job! And a wonderful tutorial for when we all mess up (because you know it’s gonna happen). No yiddish from this reformed Catholic 🙂
Way to go Cara!!! We should be able to pick you out in a crowd today…you’re the one walking tall and proud!
Oh, phew. Mazel tov!
Cara, that fix was genius! I never thought of it, I probably would have ripped down that whole cable and reknit it! You knit like a mensch 🙂
Jennifer,
Tokhes afn tish literally means “buttocks on the table”. It’s “meaning”, however, is “put up or shut up”. LOL.
Oy vey… cracking up saw the title in rss feed and spit up coffee on the computer. So glad it worked for you and thanks for the great tutorial for WHEN I do that too. =)
All’s well that ends well! 🙂 Don’t you feel like Superman now? (or whatever your favorite superhero may be?)
You did it! Hooray! I’m laughing because you messed up your swatch too, but hey – it all worked out in the end!
You are amazing! Cable ON!
Ha, ha…there is a Yiddish party going on in the comments. It Western speak…YOU ROCK!
Houdinette!!
Effing magic, Cara!
Flippin’ right! Good for you!!!
I said it yesterday, I’ll say it again today. That’s effin’ cool. Congrats on a great fix!
Yay! (That’s Irish Jersey girl for Mazel Tov).
Shtek arayn!
Woo Hoo!!! You made your own magic! Awesome job, I knew you’d do it.
Whew! Glad that it worked on the real thing. I would have been in tears shaking terribly.
Was there really ever any doubt? Certainly not over here.
And now- it’s PERFECT! Congrats!
Now finish those sleeves;) SO I can see the FO!;)
La Chaim!
Congrats! I’ve been hoping this would work out for you without having to…well you know 😉 Phew! Now onto the sleeves 🙂
Man, I need someone to use their Yiddish on me! If someone is looking for an excuse, can anyone tell me what the song “Jomme Jomme” is talking about? I have the version by Cola Laila (their album Klezmer Fiesta is a big hit at our house).
I would love to make an animated short using it but since I have a very minimal understanding of what she is actually laughing about that could be disastrous.
I would be willing to trade services (I’m a designer and photographer… but then again, who isn’t). I have some nice black and white photos of Kazimierz in Krakow, Poland… anyone?
Sorry to hijack the thread 🙂
Awesome! YOU ROCK!
congrats!!! and just think of all the time that you saved not having to reknit that 🙂 amazing.
Hurrah! (I have no Yiddish to use.)
Yay!! Great job! 🙂 It’s as good as new.
Truly unbelievable. What a great save!
Oi! Seriously this was amazing and at the beginning a little (I thought)alter_cocker, mashug- if you get my drift. But you did it bubbula! Way to go! You are for sure a mensch (can a female be that? you are the female embodiment-for sure). Bet you didn’t know my maiden name was Kaufman (even though mom is a shiksa). Happy Use Your Yiddish Day!
YAY! And thanks for the heads up on Yiddish day. My dad’s side of the family is Jewish (my mom’s is Catholic), so it brings memories 😀
Congrats! It looks wonderful! I’m glad you decided to go for it, even if the swatch wasn’t perfect. Janice certainly knows what she is talking about. 🙂
Nu? Leben ahf dein kop!
According to Joe the Dad (whose first language is Yiddish), the above expression means “so? You did a great job!” though it literally wishes you a long life. I guess that works.
You are a kluger, my dear.
Hon, if you can do all that cutting and reknitting and STILL take pictures, and STILL keep calm? Looks wonderful.
Can I send some fix-it projects your way? 🙂
And to think, if you had discovered the mistake earlier, you would have ripped it out and missed this opportunity to spread your knitting wings. You met the challenge! Great job!
I hear ya, sometimes you just gotta squat or go home. Nice work on fixing the sweater, I bet you’re super happy!
Most Excellent! You’ll be able to wear this sweater with much, much pride.
Great Save. I knew you could do it.
Hooray!
I knew you’d do it. You eff’d up on the swatch, just another reason that swatching is for pussies!
Sure, I say that, but would I have the nads you have to *C*U*T* a strand?? Oy, I need to sit down, the room is spinning!
Mazel tov! The fix looks great, and thank you for blogging it so we all can learn. My bubbe would say “Zeh hot goldeneh hent”. I speak only fractured Yiddish but enjoy using what little I have. I didn’t spew tea on the keyboard, but did LOL when I saw your post title.
Hooray!! A seriously brave venture!
Congratulations! It looks perfect. You are an inspiration to all of us knitters who goof up on occasion.
I don’t know a word of Yiddish, but I’m so glad your re-cabling worked!
When I used to do theater, the dress rehearsal was often a total bust – we called it good luck, to get all the “ooops!” out of the way before the big performance…
Kudos, Cara! What a great job! I will definitely remember this technique, but pray to Venus I never have to use it. ;^)
You had me on the edge of my seat. My dh thinks knitting is boring — heh, what does he know! Congrats on a perfect save!
Bravo!! That’s what I call ‘cojones’, baby!
F*CKIN YAY!!
That is awesome. I am SO proud of you for doing it and showing us. I often live vicariously through you. I even have been purchasing enough yarn for knee highs … now all I need to do is actually knit some!!
Mazel Tov!
yay!
Frankly, I’m not surprised. It’s a gorgeous sweater. Oy! Yiddish day?
BRAVO!!!
Thanks so much for the tutorial, and congratulations on an absolutely perfect sweater.
Kayn aynhoreh = kineahora = kine-ahora, Mazel Tov!
Phew! I held my breath while I was reading this. So glad it all worked out.
Cara – you amaze me!
Yay! Great job!
Congrats…that’s quite an undertaking! Don’t know if I could handle that, emotionally, that is 🙂
And hey, I think I saw the Soft Rock commercial you were talking about. Is it the one with the guys from Air Supply? If so, that did look like a good compilation 🙂
Yayyyy you!!!
Zie Gezindt, as always, and mazel tov on your cable success!
Woo! Congrats!
Oy vey! Fancy yarn you should have.
You did a fantastic job, kay-ne-hor-eh. (Means something like, “no evil eye”.) In other words, I don’t want to jinx you. When I first read what you were going to do, I thought you were a meshugener (a crazy person), but now I know you are a baleboste (a female boss!). May your finished sweater bring you much nachas (satisfaction.)
oh horray! Looks lovely! Congrats on your great fix.
Seriously cool. I have no Yiddish to give you. I grew up in North Dakota, and I believe that all the Jewish people must have been too smart to immigrate to a place that routinely gets to 40 below in the winter.
Wonderful! It’s good to know you didn’t end up with shtik drek.
Okay, I don’t use a lot of profanity, but this triumphant, couragreous coup of yours leads me to draw upon my best Canadianism to say:
FUCKIN’ EH!
Mahvelous. (But why are you sitting on the table?)
Wow. I’m super impressed.
It’s a Yiddish Day Miracle! Or some pretty darned cool knitting magic. Congrats.
You show that farkakt cable who’s boss!
Oh good, I thought you might have a toothache!
Yeah! It looks great!
I am humbled!
I DO believe in magic! That’s fantastic.
I am in awe of your knitting greatness. Wow. And I adore that sweater!
Now I know who to call if I end up in the same predicament…
BTW – I got my STR yarn today! WOOHOO! It’s beautiful. My younger daughter is jealous, she loves the colorway too. Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try it.
So glad it worked out!!!
Nicely done! I am happy to learn this trick through your mistake. 🙂 I am sure I will need it sooner or later.
Another reason, for next time, to knit a sweater in pieces: I just took a class at Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat with Fiona Ellis and she was emphatic that aran sweaters need seams. She believes that the soft, stretchy, heavy fabric of a cabled sweater needs the structure of seams to hold it’s shape.
Speaking of Madrona, I saw your blanket at the Blue Moon booth in the market. It is absolutely beautiful! Thank you for sharing your beautiful blanket, letting the Blue Moon folks show it, I was delighted to see it. Thank you for sharing the pattern.
WOW. Fucking Fantastic. Very ballsy.
Fantastic! Great job!
Whats Yiddish for “I don’t see the before and after pictures!”
Though I trust you.. I’m sure its beautiful, I’m just not getting any pictures on my computer screen for some reason. Mazel tov!
Theatre superstition dictates that a Bad Final Dress means a Great Opening Night, whereas a Good Final Dress means a Horrible Opening Night. So glad it worked out!
*Standing Ovation from Wisconsin*
Woooohooooo!!
It’s too funny I had just learned to do this exact thing last month at our local guild meeting. I was going to share the info with you, but of course our knitting community is all over this stuff! Isn’t it great to know you have such a huge support system?
The only yiddish I can come up with is “Oy Vey!” and it hardly applies here!
Great, great, GREAT job, you queen of beating the knitting disaster with a pointy stick! I think I know where your odd yarn thread came from. When I did mine-my swatch was good and I found the extra mess in my sweater. UGH. Sometime the mistake is made by holding the yarn in back when you should be holding it in front when you cross the cable. Then the yarn floats around some sts, not behind them where it should. If you never have to look at it again it isn’t a problem. It is an “OY VEY!” when you have to cut your cable.
I’m so glad that drama is out of your life. You said it: On to the sleeves!
congrats on fixing the sweater! I am so happy for you, and also happy to know there is this fix for the next time I screw up!
I can’t wait to see the finished sweater.
Isn’t crazy how super high the stakes get? Like, crazy high! But then the euphoria and fairy dust once you succeed ALMOST makes it worth it. Congratulations!(You are so hilarious to suggest that you would’ve taken down the site and gotten the fuck out of dodge if it hadn’t worked. Hilarious!)
Great job fixing the cable. You have much bigger youknowwhats than I do.
A few stitches with twist, not so much to get worked up about….but when finished, sound likes the makin’s of a new drink….Great Job
You’re a rock star! And thanks for the tutorial too. I totally never thought there was a way to cut the knitting to achieve this end result. Glad you can move on and not have to reknit.
Adding my congratulations to the pile… Doesn’t it feel good to just flick off disaster?
Got my STR in the mail yesterday! I hate to break it to the other winners, but Cara obviously likes me best… The colorway she sent me is the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen, all my favorite jewel-tones – surely I must have gotten the very best one… My original plan (before it arrived) was to wind it right up & knit with it, but now that I’ve seen it, I realize that I’m going to be fondling it for a while… And probably carrying it around with me & showing it to people. And fondling it some more…
Thank you SO MUCH, Cara – both for the tutorial, and for the yarn!
Great save, C!! I totally missed out on the Yiddish day thing…
Mazel tov!
Good thing you uh uh. Dang my yiddish is rusty.
Rock on! That’s it, I’m doing this to my sweater next. Thanks for the inspiration!
you are a super hero!!!
Congratulations on your cable correction, and HUGE thanks for the link to Fuse8. I’m having flashbacks to my Kidlit days!