Ah, relaxation.... This afternoon, I put on some favorite music, poured a steaming cup of tea, and settled in to "frog" an unwearable disaster of a sweater that I'd spent the last two weeks knitting. (Rip-it! Rip-it!)

Regardless of the tedium factor, for knitting or sewing, the basic equation of ripping-out remains the same:
 

​Time spent doing
+ Time spent un-doing
= Effort with nothing to show for it.
​

I'm not a perfectionist. (Don't believe those ugly rumors you've heard about me.) Often enough, when I've done my best, it still isn't perfect.  Actually, with knitting, that's nearly always! What's important to me is making every project the best I can make it. Doing-over in order to do it better keeps moving my personal "best" that much closer to "perfect."

​Some of my friends think I'm crazy, but here's my "Zen" philosophy of ripping out:  

In life, when I take a wrong turn, make a bad decision, or otherwise make a mess of things, I have to live with the consequences. Not so in knitting! There, I get a do-over. In fact, I get as many do-overs as I want, and that makes me a very happy frog. 
​
​Obviously, ripping-out is never ideal.  We'd all ​much prefer to get it right the first time. That's especially true in quilting (even if you've got your pal, "Jack" standing by to help).

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing some of my favorite tips for precision quilt piecing, to help you get it right the first time, and every time.  Be sure to subscribe to my email list so you don't miss a thing.
​

During a recent trip to The Big City (from the persepctive of Chatham, NH, that would be Portland, ME), I ducked into one of those nation-wide chain fabric and craft stores.  Browsing the yarn section, I discovered an entire aisle devoted to "Vanna's Choice®" yarn. 

VANNA'S choice? 

 As in Vanna "I'd like to buy a vowel" White?   

Absolutely!  According to the folks over at Lion Brand yarns, Vanna White is " America's favorite crocheter." 

Who knew?

Apparently, everyone except me.  (I guess I really do miss a lot by not having television.)

It seems the lovely Ms. White has been Lion Brand's spokesperson for over 14 years.  And why not?  She's published several books of crochet patterns.  Do a search on "Vanna White" over at Amazon.com, and an interesting assortment of images pops up:  Vanna all wrapped up in cozy afghans, and Vanna on magazine covers that need to be wrapped in plain brown paper. 

( The magazine covers date from the mid '80s.  I'm betting that these days Vanna prefers to be photographed wrapped in the afghan.)

Alas, on that day in Portland, my choice was not Vanna's Choice®.  Instead, I went with some lovely self-striping sock yarn by Deborah Norville.

Deborah Norville?

Yep.  The television celeb is also quite the knitter, and is author of a 2009 knitting book.

Are these gals for real?

It all leaves me wondering.  Is the knitting connection supposed to make these celebrities seem more down-home and authentic , or is their endorsement intended to bring a luster of Hollywood glamor to the humble needle arts?

Next time you watch Inside Edition, check out Deborah Norville's feet.  Let me know if she's wearing hand-knit socks.