False Finishes

  We hear about false starts all the time in life from running races to knitting projects (eg. "I had to cast on and restart 5 times before I got the pattern right!") but we don't hear as much about false finishes.  Mountain climbers know what I'm talking about (eg. "ARgh, I thought we were there, but this is a false summit!"), but except in mountain climbing, which makes everything more exciting, false finishes are just a drag.   False starts are made when your relationship to your project (to stick to knitting from here on) is still fresh and vibrant. You and your yarn are a young couple working through the early realizations that no relationship is perfect, but it's Almost Fun to Argue a Bit, Hash Things Out and know that the Making Up part is coming soon (and that's always something to look forward to). You're in Love, everything will be Just Fine. Gauge will come with patience and devotion.

False finishes however, are more like old worn out arguments between you, and your now long time companion. You still like each other well enough, and you know you'll be fine in the end, but arguing is just tedious and repetitious. "How many times do I have to tell you that the cuff needs to be Longer? I said Longer!" 

"This is silly; this is the second time you've had to work my  button band. I told you you should have

 counted as you picked up all those stitches!" "I still like your colors, but your ends are sticking out all over the place."

But, as Pa in the Little House series says, "All's well that ends well." Long-time relationships that weather these continuous aggravations with even more patience and devotion are the ones with which we want to be involved (what good is an almost done sweater stuffed in a bag in the bottom of your cedar chest?), and, though maybe not as sparkly are often more elegantly beautiful in their maturity.

Bacardi, I love you more than ever (just keep those ends in)!