Sometimes it is best to just start over

I knit my husband a pair of socks for Father's Day 2009.  Ok, to be honest, I gave him the wool on Father's Day 2009 - He got the socks four months later in October.

I digress.

He loved those socks and wore them all the time. 

I darned the heels at least twice - but still - there they were in the darning pile again - and it just wasn't going to work.

Hmmmm. 
Maybe I could just cut out the heel and knit an afterthought heel?

Snip.  Snip.

The snips got bigger and the wool wouldn't unravel.

I thought about just throwing them out.  I curled them up ready for the garbage. 

But?

He really likes those socks.

And I hate throwing out things I have spent time and love on.

So I cut open the toe and started to unravel.  I unraveled all the way back to the start of the heel. 

I picked up the 72 stitches, and figured out where I was in the pattern. 

That took a couple of hours. 

This is what knitting has taught me.

Sometimes you can fix something that is broken. 

Sometimes you can throw it away.

But, sometimes?

Sometimes you have to start over.

Maybe not all the way over, but go back to before the mistake was made.

And start to knit it up again. 

I really did do this tonight with this pair of socks.

But?

But, this post isn't really about socks at all.