I'm knitting a sweater for my granddaughter. The start for the body went well. When I started a sleeve, using 4 double point needles, I would get about an inch along and have to start over because I kept goofing up on one thing or other. I started over probably 8 or 9 times on that sleeve. (I'm thinking maybe I should be using an easier pattern.) Finally, re-reading the instructions, I got the hang of it and finished that sleeve. The other sleeve was much easier to do.

Then I started putting the body and the sleeves all on one circular needle and began a new color of yarn. It was all going well until I realized I had more stitches in one place than the directions said I should have and less stitches in another place. So I had to back up one row and re-knit till the stitch count was right.

By now I have two hundred eighty stitches on a circular needle and I'm zooming along thinking how great it looks. I held it up to admire it and realized I had one sleeve on upside down!

Oh shoot!! (Well, I used a different expletive....)

Only one thing to do - unravel back to the sleeve and put it on right side up. Unraveling is very dangerous. There's a huge risk of too much coming unraveled, dropping stitches, ending up with the wrong stitch count, and generally making a big fat mess. It's a delicate process. So I gingerly started taking it apart, one stitch at a time, being as careful as possible to not end up with a shapeless blob of yarn.

Now I'm almost back to the point I was at when I found the sleeve upside down and I'm sure I'll goof up again before the sweater is finished. The process is sometimes painful and awkward but I'm not giving up. I know the finished product will be beautiful and I'll see my granddaughter wearing it and hope she knows a little bit of how much I love her.

Gigi