A week ago, one of my really good college friends and his family came through town on their way from Southern Utah back home to Bend, Oregon. I hadn’t seen them for at least twelve years, so it was a long-overdue visit where we got to meet one another’s families and catch up beyond the connections Facebook status updates afford.
While here, my friend’s two kids told their parents that I reminded them of Elastigirl. His kids knew nothing about my whole “Knit Hero” launch, so who knows what it was about me harkened Helen Parr in the Pixar movie, “The Incredibles,” but whatever it was, I find it incredibly flattering!
Elastigirl is awesome. She kicks some major ass while keeping her head and still being an amazing mom and wife to her family. She has a solid moral compass, is resourceful and flexible, and although she doesn’t knit in the movie, I’m giving it pretty good odds that she will be knitting in at least one scene in the sequel. Because, really, we all know she would be an awesome knitter.
What I like about Elastigirl–and all the Incredibles in general–is that they are not perfect, iconic superheroes. They are real people most of the time, living undercover, learning about how to use their superpowers within the perameters of normal society. They have faults, insecurities, and are evolving just like the rest of us. Just because they are superheroes, they still make mistakes and screw things up.
I find this very comforting. Just because I am Knit Hero does not mean I have no faults or make no mistakes. I make plenty and often. I am not perfect. Not even close. I am still learning all the time. In fact, learning and growing are what I enjoy most about life. Whenever things feel stagnant is when I start to feel bored, uninspired and antsy.
Thankfully, knitting keeps me humble. Just when I feel a little cocky, my knitting comes up to bite me from behind and remind me that I still have a lot to learn. I made one of the cardinal errors of knitting on my Coronilla Tee that I didn’t even notice until showing it off to a friend. Laying it out on a table for her to admire my knitting prowess, I see something I had never noticed before:
A stripe. A pretty obvious stripe.
Yep…
This superhero didn’t notice that I had purchased and been knitting with two very different dyelots until the sweater was almost completely finished. It’s not quite like injuring a trainful of passengers or mistakenly blowing up a building, but it’s embarrassing nonetheless. It means frogging the tee up to the armholes to start again, hoping that alternating the skeins will hide my careless mistake.
I am not a good knitter because I don’t make mistakes. (Oh, I make plenty!) What makes me a good knitter is not being afraid of making mistakes. Nothing in knitting is permanent. I am not afraid of ripping something out and starting again. Dropping a miscrossed cable down twenty rows and reworking it row by row is actively thrilling for me. As I’ve knit–and made lots of mistakes–I’ve gotten braver and better at fixing the things I’ve messed up. I’m willing to try new things and tackle challenging projects not because I know I won’t mess them up, but because I’m not afraid of making them.
It’s a good reminder to me that just because I am calling myself Knit Hero does not mean I am now perfect, above making mistakes or learning new things. I will not always have all the answers or know all the things–nor would that really be any fun. Instead, I want to continue loving knitting, teaching, and learning. That sounds like an adventure worthy of a superhero to me!
I would have just convinced myself that I meant to knit a striped sweater. Ombre is all the rage! 😉
Oh I’m so excited that you are both coming. I hope Melissa is enjoying her new community. I probably won’t be down before that, so I’ll see you then!
Jocelyn!! I’m so excited to see you here. 🙂 Sign me up! I will love to spend some time with you and Kim and fix some troubled lace together.
Have you heard that Melissa and I are both able to come to Alta again this year?! Super excited to see her again and spend some time with you!!
Always, always appreciate your feedback, Mary Ann! So thankful we carried on and risked our lives to knit a beaded star together on that snowy day in December. 🙂
Your words are wise and true. I feel like it’s been quite a risk to put myself out there and try to make a go of really pushing myself as a knitting teacher, and doing so has made me feel like I need to be “the EXPERT” all the time to everybody. This entry was my way of processing the impossibility of being that person and trying to be okay with being fallible. I just can’t keep it up and it isn’t any fun at all.
What I love the most about knitting is how fearless I have always felt, willing to try anything. I need to hold on to that or I will kill the joy in this craft that I so love–and so love sharing with others!
So glad you’re part of my community!! See you Wednesday. 🙂
Awww, Robin! You are my constant cheerleader and I am so grateful to have you in my corner! I am amazed by how much you have learned and grown as a knitter and have loved that knitting has been such a joy and reprieve to you as you’ve struggled with your health for the past year and a half. Love you bunches!
Karyn – since you don’t have a lumpy waistline to hide that line in your yarn, I guess you will take it all out. I’m not sure I would, but then I would be bothered by it forever. It’s so reassuring to know you make mistakes too! Next time I’m in Utah Kim and I want you to teach us how to fix lace. She probably has a better sense then I do; but my only solution is to totally frog out the whole section. This blog is fun – keep it up.
So I have a couple of things to say(don’t I always):
1. Again I say, “You have an excellent way with words.” You need to write a book even if it’s a humorous book on the adventures of knitting.
2. Back when I was a teacher/Catholic school principal my saying almost daily was: “God is the only one who is perfect, therefore, we all make mistakes. It’s how we pick ourselves up and go on from there that counts.” This sort of keeps us all humble maybe even the parents who want perfect kids, if I say it enough.
3. I’m so glad I went out of my comfort zone to make that “fiddlely” star. I met you and now know that because of knit hero I can safely go out of my comfort zone more often. I also got to meet an amazing group of women. Who knew you could have so much FUN knitting.
4. Finally – just because you can take your mistakes out – it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt to rip them out. I wanted to cry when I had to rip out my orange sweater!
I love this Karen, you will always be my knit hero because your incredible. You inspire me to keep knitting and learning. I have learned soooo much from you and Im so grateful. Thanks for all you do!!!!