Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I could push this tie off a cliff


Sometimes being creative can really put a cramp in your style. Knitted ties is something that I have planned to have it's own section in my Etsy shop. I have a million ideas for them floating around in my head, I hardly have enough time to write them all down so I don't forget for later!

I started the first tie I had in mind for the store and so far it has been one of those creative disasters. The things my brain envisions are not translating into my knitting fingers. This tie turned out short... like a good 5" short. lol! Can you imagine wearing a tie that ends higher than your bellybutton? Epic fail. Once I started to block that bad boy and realized that it just wasn't going to stretch out to the size I had envisioned, steam blew out of my ears. Like seriously, I was on FIRE! 

It can be so disappointing to work hard on something just to see it flop. That's the life of creating something new though. Ideas don't always just fall into your lap. Fantastic work doesn't always happen the first time around. Just like anything worth having, it takes practice and time. I figure if I'm going to dedicate an entire section of my store to knitted ties, that won't be the last time that I have a jacked up tie sitting in a box labeled "creative experiments".

I've decided to go ahead and finish the tie by hand sewing the lining to the back and everything else that it requires so even though this will be unacceptable to sell, I have that lesson learned under my belt and I know what to expect the next time around! I do get this evil glare on my face when I start working on it because I know as soon as I finish, it's hitting the no good box to never be seen again but thought of frequently.

I thought I'd share this little "hiccup" in my knitting to attest to the fact that I refuse to sell anything sub-par. Really and truly I could put it on a model and manipulate it where it looked long enough but it you were to look at it from the back there would be like a smidgen of a tiny little piece in the back just waiting to pull loose and untie the tie. From the photography you'd be none the wiser. Buying off the internet can be so scary for just that reason and I want people to know that I am a PERFECTIONIST. I am not interested in selling deceptively. I put labels on all of the things I make with my name on it for goodness sake. I would hate to have a garbage product floating around with my name plastered all over it. How embarrassing.

Really and truly I could use the vent. I've been very tempted to take a pair of scissors to the thing after I finish it for a little sanity therapy. lol Maybe I'll post pictures :) Everything is a learning experience. Even patterns that I have made a million times over unravel a new lesson, experience, or bout of anger each time I make it. This is just a step towards a very fun, successful, and  HIGH QUALITY line of knitted ties. As frustrated as I have gotten with this project, I'm thankful for the lessons I have learned from it and know that it will help make an even better product than I originally imagined.

3 comments:

  1. We are all lifelong learners.
    It took me 3 attempts last week to come up with workable seam finishes for a fake fly on baby boy boxer shorts.

    Your perfectionism will reap rewards -- many satisfied customers.

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  2. Haha, mess-ups are notorious when it comes to being a crafter, it's kind of the nature of the game.

    I can't tell you how many times I've started a project and ended up ripping it to pieces after hours and hours of beadwork. It can be frustrating, to say the least. More often is the transformation of something into something else. For example, in one of my recent projects i was working on making a bracelet, but it was far to long to be a bracelet (unless someone had really big wrists) so I converted it to an anklet. Problem solved. Sometimes the item doesn't convert as easily though, unfortunately.

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  3. LeAnn- I would love to see that! it sounds super cute!

    Meagans- I totally know what you mean about that. I am thinking either see if I can get it to work for a child maybe (shorter torso)? or just give it to my fiance and let him just wear the wrong side VERY short :). lesson learned indeed!

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