Victory Over Patch-aphobia

My Grandma Elsie knitted this sweater and gave it to me for my 15th birthday — the only surprise party my mother ever planned for me. As a knitter myself, I admire Grandma's small, even stitches and the huge amount of work that went into creating this garment. She told me it was "a labor of love." And I believe it!

After (ahem) years of wear, the sweater still looks practically like new, and even fits! But a moth must have found a tasty spot, and a small hole was developing near the right shoulder. The yarns Grandma used would be impossible to match exactly, and I know my poor, uneven stockinette cannot approach the perfection of her stitches. Any repair work I attempted would be a visible affront to Elsie's handiwork. 

What to do? I asked my knitting group for suggestions, and they gave me the following suggestion: Find a wool yarn that would go well with the sweater's palette, knit a swatch, wash it, and tumble it in the clothes dryer to "felt" it. That process would shrink the fibers and cause them to draw together in a tightly woven fabric that I could then cut into any shape patch I desired. I could add my own flavor and pizzazz to Grandma's patchwork polo.

So I bought the yarn, knitted the swatch and felted it.

That was in 2008. Fearing Grandma's judgment if I made a mistake — kind of silly since she died in 1994 — I did what all good perfectionists do. I procrastinated ... for five years.

A couple days ago, I completed my most recent knitting project. Emboldened by the new skills I acquired during that process, I finally grabbed the sweater, the felted swatch and my embroidery scissors, and cut out a heart shape. I went on YouTube to refresh my "how-to" regarding blanket stitch then dove in.

I wasn't even afraid ... and I didn't have to whistle a happy tune! The entire project took me something like a half hour. And doesn't it look cute? 

Once again I have realized the extreme silliness of procrastination. I wonder what else I can finish while I'm in the mood?