Frogging the Creek Side Ruana (Twice): A Crochet Lesson in Patience

Crocheting can be a very humbling experience at times. Sometimes you think you have followed the pattern exactly, and you are almost done, and just in time for fall, and then all of a sudden you realize your eyes, brain, and hands were not, in fact, on the same page as the pattern.

I will admit this is my second attempt at the Creek Side Ruana by Marly Bird, a lovely, well-written pattern that deserves better than what I've put it through. My first attempt went terribly because my skills weren't quite there yet. Feeling more confident in myself, I decided to try it again a few months ago.

If you haven't come across the pattern before, a ruana is basically a cross between a poncho and a cardigan: two rectangular panels joined at the shoulders and partway down the back, left open in the front so it drapes like a wrap. Marly Bird's version is worked in a simple, chunky stitch, clearly explained and easy to follow. Which, honestly, makes what happened next entirely on me.

I was so excited that I was almost done; all I had to do was seam it and do the final edging on the front. Then I noticed something weird: the band on the back and the band on one of the front panels didn't quite line up. As you can see in the photo, the edging on one panel was shorter than the other, which then threw the whole thing off.

Still not sure how the band is shorter but the panel is longer. 😆

I did check before I put the two panels together, and I genuinely thought they matched. Apparently my eyes had decided at some point that counting to the pattern's stitch count and counting to a number suspiciously close to it were the same thing. It was only when I laid it out in its magnificent dark green splendor that I realized the two numbers had never once been friends.

There was no way to fix it but to frog (crochet term for ripping a project apart) and start all over. My hands, meanwhile, had clearly been on autopilot for a good chunk of those rows, cheerfully approving stitch counts my brain never actually signed off on—a very effective system, except for the part where it doesn't work.

This was painful.

Lesson learned, and it has nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with me: count stitches at the end of every single row for the first section of any two-panel project, out loud if necessary, preferably to my very patient dog.

I thought, well, I could just leave the one panel that wasn't messed up. I decided, well, I might as well start both panels over since I have had so much practice. Surely the third time will be the charm, right?

I guess being humbled every once in a while is not a bad thing. As James 1:2-4 puts it:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

I am determined not to let my own count-challenged eyes and hands win this round, even if it means I will not have it ready to wear for this fall.

If you've ever had to frog a project this close to the finish line, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Misery loves company, and apparently so does yarn.

Ariana 🧶