A Learning Process

Oddly, one of the hardest and best things to learn when knitting is when NOT to knit.

Seriously.

It took me years to accept and even now I don't always follow my own advice.

The main reason for me not to knit is tiredness. If I'm overly tired I do much more harm to my piece than good. Sometimes I have to start over, rip out whole sections, back up several inches, and--in a few cases--chuck it completely. The number of mistakes is not worth any ground I might gain even on something as straightforward as a stockinette stitch scarf.

As a knitter--no matter how casually you work--I would encourage you to accept whatever your particular quirk of when not to knit might be. It could be when you are under the weather or the worse for the wine. Whatever it is, it's best to figure it out early and save yourself a lot of pain.