Mishaps: the rule of three?

I don’t buy into the notion that trouble comes in threes. I can see myself after one or two problems, just waiting for a third one to happen along. Not the best frame of mind for anyone.

But lo and behold, I have had a few knitting mishaps lately. And when I hit three, I thought, hmm. 

The First Mishap was the Wicked sweater that needed to be frogged because of gauge gone awry. This was accompanied by Mishap #2, the case of the oversized socks, also due to gauge-gone-wild.

Which brings us to the Third Mishap: Yesterday I was winding some yarn and my swift had a major breakdown. The large screw refused to tighten properly. I suspect there is some stripping inside the screw hole—which is odd because I don’t overtighten it—and now the swift is tilted and wobbly. It leans backwards and will not fasten snugly to the counter.

Then one wooden brace snapped. I wrapped duct tape around it, which didn’t work too well but held up for about ten seconds . . .

. . . until the second wooden brace snapped.

My injured swift is now unusable. I have emailed Yarn Bazaar, where I bought it only nine months ago. In the meantime, I am looking around (unsuccessfully so far) for a lampshade that could serve as a temporary swift.

Unfortunately, our only lampshade is small and cylindrical in shape, not the “A” form I need. But there is a Goodwill right by the supermarket, and hopefully they will have something I can rig up.

I will stop here at three mishaps and plan to have only raving successes from here on out.