Bless Those Who Disappoint You

So how did I get from a bison fiber neck warmer to a blog that's becoming a book?  Through frustration.  And thereby hangs a tale worth the sharing.

My first Ravelry search revealed a host of neck warmers, all of them handsome, most of them for women.  The closest I could come to something unisex that I liked was "Roots," by Tora Froseth, translated from the original Norwegian.

Hubbest admired it, allowed as how he would like something related to wear when motorcycling, but couldn't commit to the design or the espresso-colored bison.

Back to the Search function.  Again and again, changing the parameters, downloading a favorite or two, but still missing the mark.  "Sinning," in archery terms.

I had him describe exactly what he was thinking of, more or less.  And more or less exactly he gestured, "Oh, about to here, and to here, and easy on and off, and lightweight to stuff in a jacket pocket when it gets too warm—you know, right for biking."  OK.

So I measured his neck and shoulders and showed him some roving and he allowed as how that would work, and I said to myself, "Make it up as you go."  Which I did.  And I made notes and wrote them down as I went, and then I made a PDF of the results and put it on Ravelry, free, as my gift to the knitting community.

"Wow," said my first commenter.  "The model makes this bib, babe!"  And that brought a host of thoughts that wanted sharing beyond the Comments box.

I hadn't been able to find exactly what Hubbest needed, but that led me to develop his neck warmer as well as a burgeoning host of other designs.  Then it led to this blog and the book it is becoming.

I had searched the data banks and couldn't find what I needed; I looked within, and there it was.  Once again, my personal mantra proved true:

Bless those who disappoint you, for they are leading you toward a better path.

(Coming up:  Basics for Beginners, a Knit-Along)