The Pursuit of Perfection

I'm chiming in pretty late on this topic. It's been on my mind for the last few days, but I haven't had time to really put down my thoughts. I assumed I pretty much put the perfection goal behind me. I was able to wear (proudly, I might say) my first handsun sweater, knowing full well that I changed the edging from seed stitch to garter, but I can hardly tell and I know that no one else has. The irregularities in the spinning seem to be more of an asset in this sweater than a liability. I need to tighten up the buttonholes to keep the buttons from slipping out. But every time I wear it I get compliments and raves (of course, mostly from people that don't spin or knit - crap, there's that disclaimer again!) so I'm thinking that I've let this need for being perfect, well, almost perfect, go.

So what happens? I've been working on a small bag for the ST exchange. It's my first time spinning silk and knitting with beads. I stop and preen over my work every few minutes. I keep thinking that I need to post a picture here, but in the back of my mind I worry about what the recipient will think. The silk goes from tightly spun and plyed to loose fluffs of fiber. Do the beads look like they took me as much time to pick out as they did, or will she think they were plopped in as an afterthought? Eventually I remember how much I enjoyed the exchanges I've been in. Was everything professional and perfectly executed? Of course not. Did that diminish the pleasure I had opening the package and seeing the skeins (fish, fulled washcloths, hand dyed cotton, etc)? Of course not. And so I go back to finishing the bag, delighting in my first experience in knitting with handspun silk and beads. Take a look (the beads are different colors, but they are not showing up that way on my monitor).