Recently sidelined by an injured foot, I am blissfully under doctor's orders to ice and rest this weekend. That means I spent a lovely afternoon today actually knitting! I have been working on the Mudblood Cardigan from the new Unofficial Harry Potter Knits Magazine and after three different tries, I have finally gotten the shoulder shaping the way I want it and replaced the super ugly flat black "circus-looking" buttons I previously had with some pretty irridescent buttons from G Street Fabrics today. Why am I telling you all this? To offer up some encouragement to you for when your knitting doesn't come out the way you'd planned. "But I followed the pattern exactly and it just doesn't fit right!" Well, so did I. Guess what? The designer doesn't know YOUR body. She or he was writing a pattern that will generally fit the widest range of body types, most likely using RANGES of sizes in their calculations. Even if you did everything the pattern said perfectly correct, something may not fit exactly the way you would like. This is where you need to remember: IT'S YOUR KNITTING! Instead of abandoning all your hard work and $$$, put it aside for a day or two, and then take a second look and see where you can make modifications to the pattern to fit YOU. There are narrow vs. broad shoulders, short vs. long waistlines, generous vs. less generous busts, short vs.long arms, and a plethora of truly unique stomach and hip measurements out there. No one can write a pattern to perfectly fit you, except YOU! The moral of my story today is this: no knitter is perfect, no pattern writer is perfect, no body type is perfect. If there is something about your project you don't like, don't be ready to settle or, worse, afraid to frog. NO! Take the time and care with your unique creation and make it what you want it to be! You CAN do it! And you will be happier once you have:) Knit on, friends!