Murphy Strikes Again

I came across a thread on Ravelry the other day, on Murphy's Laws of knitting. People contribute all sorts of stories of Murphy's Law striking their work. For example:

- The case where if it's a project for someone else, you will have plenty of leftover yarn. If it's for yourself,  you will be 4 yards short, even if you bought more than called for.
- The case where you may have several of a particular notion - needles, scissors, stitch markers, tape measure - but they will never be findable when you need them.
 - The case where if you run out of yarn for a project, it will either be discontinued or no longer available in that dye lot.
 - The case where if you start a simple project to get relief from a complex one, the simple one will have errors or otherwise give you as much grief as the complex project.
 - The case where if you are going out to knit, it is likely you will manage to pack the yarn for one project and the pattern/needles for another.

Etc, etc.

It seems to be a common issue. I have managed to get three instances of Murphy-esque behaviour in my own knitting in the last few days.

The first was in the tam I was knitting. I got halfway through a stripe and unexpectedly ran out of yarn. Unpicked the stripe and rerolled the ball, which came out smaller than remembered. A search of the area revealed the ball had had two lengths in it, and I was sitting on the second one.

Then there was the case of the sock heel. I read the pattern three times, and couldn't figure out how I was supposed to be doing this. Tried twice, ripped twice, e-mailed for help from the designer. Of course then it suddenly made sense, and before I heard back, I had the heel finished, feeling slightly foolish.

And then there was the question of use. I don't usually make things if I don't have a use for them or someone to give them to. So last week I passed up a chance to test-knit a stuffed toy. There are a lot of cute toys out there, and I would have loved to knit one, but couldn't think of anyone I knew who was expecting a baby, who I could pass the finished toy to. This week? I find out that a friend has just become an aunt, and two of my cousins will be parents this fall. Babies galore to knit for.

In light of that last one, I would like to say this. Murphy? I want you to know that I am very deliberately NOT knitting a lacy corset top with matching garters. I have NO conceivable use for one. That is all.