NES - Neverending Story

[Miss Crochet]

Do you have one of these, a Neverending Story? I'm not talking about a WiP, I'm talking about a project that you have to finish but everything just goes wrong on it from start to finish?

One of my friends is having a baby. So a mutual friend, having seen the baby blankets I make for the local hospital, asked if I would make one. The pregnant friend was thrilled and said she wanted natural, muted colours. So far so good. So mutual friend and I went to the LYS and picked out some nice cotton in an Aran-white (creamy off-white), a muted pinkish-brown and a soft dusky pink - they were gorgeous together. She paid, I took the wool home and started.

And frogged. And restarted. And frogged.

I normally have a good eye for colour - come from a family of artists and graphic artists, so I know I'm not that bad - but when the colours were crocheted together, they looked horrible: dull and washed out. I tried granny squares, I tried full-colour squares. Each time when I was about half-way done, I laid it out and reviewed it and even my colour-blind boyfriend confirmed my thoughts: "Boring!"

Back to LYS, more wool. Restarted. Pulled wool in from other projects, ending up having to frog back a bit because I needed more of the wool. By this stage, I was beginning to think I'd never get it done - baby due next week, for crying out loud.

 

Anyway, to cut a long crochet-saga short: I finally finished yesterday and it was gorgeous. Such was my panic that I forgot to take a photo. I might post one later if I go to my friend's to visit. ("Yes, I'd like to take a photo but not of the child, actually" haha)

 

There are some projects that are not WiPs, they're not UFOs, they are worse... the balls of wool just conspire to dement you ("Okay, guys, look pretty but as soon as we end up together in a granny square, look as ugly as you can.")

[eurolyons]

I like the whole concept of the "Neverending Story" to describe nightmare projects like what you've mentioned.

 

I did the Prepster Jacket from SNB Crochet recently and it was basically a straightforward pattern...all in dc's (which is boring for me, but I was more concerned about making sure I got the sizing and the concept right.) Right off the bat I knew I was in trouble because I didn't work with my tape measure like I usually do. The jacket was suppose to be fitted, but it ended up more boxy, so I redesigned it a bit by gathering up the back and crocheting a "bar" with buttons to tack on the back. My biggest mistake was assuming I was actually bigger than I really am and making the back piece the largest size. I couldn't get the shoulders right...I tweaked and tweaked it and it still was really just too big and if I wore it too long, it would just all but fall off my shoulders and hang on my...

 

I must have frogged and frogged certain pieces to death...I still like the pattern, but in the end, when it was all said and done, it was just too big for me and I ended up giving it to a friend who fit it much better than me and she loves the jacket.

 

Sometimes when I have that much trouble with a project I just think that God and/or the universe is trying to tell me something...like it's not the right time to do it, or it has it's own ideas how it wants to be done, or in the case of this jacket, I should have followed my own rules as well as follow the pattern a little more closely, which is, measure, measure, measure...I normally don't have this much trouble with wearables. I want to make the jacket again, and have it fit the way it should, but I also do not want the stitch pattern to be just dc's...so I'm pondering.

[Becky Morgan]

Had one of those. A dear friend's husband was very ill, and I started to make her a comfort shawl to wear while she was sitting with him. I picked out some bright sunny yellow, because they both liked it and I thought it might cheer him up too, and tried a pattern I've made I don't know HOW many times for myself. It would not work. I mean WOULD NOT, no matter what I did. I finally decided the yarn was telling me to wait.

He died the next day.

I bought some more subdued Homespun and made her a big soft shawl to wrap up in for the winter.

[Cliffnote]

Yes I have too. I had a women ask me to make her a baby blanket for her. She was having a boy. So I started making one, it was coming out horrible. It was so bad that I just frogged the whole thing and started over. I had 6 days to make it, I finished it in 5.I didnt want to put my name on the old blanket. I was doing a shell stitch, and somehow it increased,and No matter what I tried to do to fix it, it just wasnt working. I frogged,crocheted,frogged,crocheted,frogged. But the new blanket came out very good.

 

Kim

[Miss Crochet]

Glad it's not just me.

You start with such enthusiasm and after the second frogging, you begin to think "*#%$§! (= insert bad word of choice here)". Your enthusiasm wanes and at the same time a type of resentment starts to grow ("stupid blanket!!") till the whole thing becomes a massive drag ... but you have to finish the darned thing.

I handed over, then went and splurged €20 on wool. It had to be done, my friends, it just had to be done.

[boksie]

I have one project that is a project from you know where! It was of all things, a sweater for my friends dog. They're on the West Coast and I'm here in KY so there was no fitting. My friend ordered the yarn from Annies Attic and had it sent to me. I finished it and sent it off. It came back because the neck was too big. Well, the way I frogged it was from the "wrong" end. When I redid the neck, it looked all bunchy and bumpy and plain old yicky! My friend is coming to visit next month and I'm going to offer to make a different one for her fur baby.

[Sahahne]

I just had this same problem recently. A friend asked me to make some Mary Jane booties for her daughters. We went and picked out the yarn together and came up with an idea of what she wanted. I couldn't find an exact pattern and thought No worries! I'll just wing it! I'm not too shabby at this crochet stuff - who needs a pattern really!!

 

Well I about winged it out the window. I frogged it so much the wool become furry! After about a bazillion attempts I finally got one shoe done and was happy. Fortunately I had scrawled enough of a pattern note I could make the pair. Then I had fun trying to resize to make a bigger pair for the other daughter. Ugh what an ordeal! It ended feeling like a chore rather than a fun project.

 

The interesting thing I've noted though is that in everyone's post, it has always been when making the item for someone else! I don't often have the NeS problem when making something for myself or my bub. But as soon as anyone else requests something specifically, all plans for it to go smoothly are out the window. So I think I'll stick with surprising people with what I think they'll like hehe!

[morrigan1974]

Ya know, I think I started one of these last weekend!! We were going to Sioux Falls for my DH's b-day (his family lives there) and I picked up some yarn and a cabled wrap pattern (freebie) to work on on the drive. I got the first 4 rows done. Then the stitches didn't count up right. So I left it until earlier this week. I've ripped it out 3 times now, and finally decided enough for now. It's been put away...

 

Does that make it a NES aka TBC (to be continued...)??

[Cherokee2]

I have this ripple afghan I'm doing... I have frogged so many rows, I could have made TWO of these in the same amount of time, had I taken the time to do it right. I get engrossed in some movie on t.v. while I'm working on it, that I just forget to count the stitches between the peaks and valleys, or I'm short one stitch in a peak, which throws the whole thing off. Somewhere down the line I will stop and realize there is a mistake somewhere... and end up ripping out a bunch of rows... having to chase it down to the spot the mistake was made. I HATE THAT! And being made of Homespun, the stuff begins to ravel pretty easily... which makes it even harder to see the mistakes. I'm sure it will look AWFUL if it's ever done. But I'm almost halfway there... no way am I going to waste it now.

[Gran]

I've had several NESs. All were with textured yarns. One I gave to a woman who takes in homeless NESs and makes them into rugs. Yep, that's right. Free form, wild little rugs. And then she hangs them on her walls. Well, here's to the outrageous ones. I gave her two huge bags of boucle and the concomitant messes.

 

Even a harmless-looking faux mohair turned out to be yarn from iniquity. I gave that to an unsuspecting, seasoned crocheter. (She told me she'd never worked with textured yarns but really wanted to give them a try. She also gladly accepted some of those always-bending-too-much plastic hooks.)

 

Then there were the skeins of variegated yarn which were labelled as being the same size as the solid colors. And we all know they weren't. A neighbor, kind-hearted soul that she is, took on the whole puzzle, added a few more oddball yarns and made a beautiful blanket.

 

Add a few more stories, but basically: Ditto. Ditto. Ditto.

 

There are those daring souls who can make lemonade out of lemons. Me? I like nice, smooth yarn or thread that doesn't snag, doesn't split, and is the same consistency and thickness throughout its length. And, no knots in the skein or ball. I did pay for one piece, right?

 

Miss Crochet, you're a dear. Thanks for starting this thread!

[AutumnWindsong]

I've had a few of these. And, yes..it's usually when someone requests me to make something. As long as it's something I want to make, even if it's for the same person, it works out fine. LOL.

 

Blessed Be.

[EEE_mom]

I actually have a picture of mine!

 

I promised this to my father for christmas - I took that picture two days ago...

 

When I agreed to do the afghan, I wanted to make it patriotic and couldn't find a pattern I liked . So in my wisdom I decided to make my own...

 

Well, now every time I look at it, it makes my eyes pop out of my head and I get disgusted and I put it down...

 

After Christmas came and went, I decided I'd give it to him for his birthday...thats next month...

 

And in the meantime, i've done about 8 or 9 other projects - just can't get motivated to pick it back up!

[Miss Crochet]

Wow!!! I think it's GORGEOUS!

[EEE_mom]

Wow!!! I think it's GORGEOUS!

 

Thank you...

 

I think my problem is that every time I look at it, it reminds me of those little evil eye things..

 

but, It's still the motivation thats missing!

[HomekeepingGran]

Usually when I get a NES I grit my teeth and work through it, but not always. Shall I admit there are two sweet little unfinished knitted sweaters for two of my sweet little granddaughters? Admit that their baby sister got hers for Christmas? Admit that I cannot BEAR to look at those other two sweaters in the same pattern, yarn and larger sizes? That I avoid peeking into the bag where they live, shamefully awaiting finishing and sewing? That even when I remember how excited the girls were about their sweaters I STILL don't want to knit on them?

 

[Dorothy]

I know what you mean I have a Shaw that is crochet in 3 Spirals and for the life of me I can not put it toghter It always comes out crooked so it is on my kitchen table unfinished