Perfection

I’ve seen two reposts of this today, with multiple comments to the effect of, “ha ha, I make plenty of mistakes already!”

And this annoys me. Not the original post, as such, but the joking about how “bad” we are at what we do. One commenter even said she thought it was arrogant if you think you work so perfectly that you have to deliberately add a mistake.

I honestly get fed up with this idea that it’s not OK to be proud of one’s skills and handiwork.  If you can accomplish it, what’s wrong with being justly proud of a perfect project?

And yet, I have rarely met a knitter who doesn’t make some kind of self-deprecating joke like this, when she gets a compliment on her work.

We all know the reality:  we put in plenty of effort and time and even a few tears sometimes, to become good at what we do. It’s the whole point of long-held county or state fairs, to do your very best work and be recognized for it.  It’s what everyone strives for, in any craft, from the very start.  I’ve taught many beginners who looked at their very first few rows, critiqued their work, and strove for better on the next row.

But somehow we aren’t allowed to say so, and instead we have to joke about how bad we are at it.  It sounds wrong, even, to say that you’re proud of your work.

Well, here goes: I am an excellent knitter, and proud of it. I’ve spent 30+ years becoming a better knitter. After all that practice, I can certainly pull off a few projects with no mistakes!  If that means my soul is trapped, so be it.

But I hope it’s at least trapped in some mohair.