Let's Crochet a Little - or Not

I am making a round tablecloth - pineapple design, for our new round dining room table.  We got the table last spring when our SIL found it at Ben's school yard sale.  I have wanted a round table for years, seems like centuries - and finally I have one.  I love crocheted tablecloths and looked and looked for this pattern.  I had made a tablecloth like this for the museum raffle when we lived in Blue Lake, CA - but couldn't find the pattern.  There are many pineapple design crocheted tablecloth patterns out there - but this one seemed to have disappeared. 

First I started crocheting this pattern - but I never really liked that center - with the swirling sticks

I got this far and ripped it out - and continued looking for the pattern I wanted.

I thought about this pattern - but I don't like the wavy look to it - I seem to be very particular about my pineapple tablecloths.

Then I found it - on ebay - and not a a buy-it-now  -  so I had to wait for the auction to end - and it ended in the middle of the night so I put in my bid - went to bed - got up early and I had won it!  It is from a vintage magazine and this was the only copy the seller had.  If I hadn't won it I had hoped to convince her to copy it and sell me a copy - but she wasn't interested in that, even though the copyright had expired long ago - so I was lucky that I won the pattern.

So I started again to crochet this last spring.

This is the one I love - the one I won on ebay - and I crocheted all spring and all summer.  I spent delightful hours on the deck, the sunshine on my back, crocheting and enjoying being outdoors.

I've had so many requests for this pattern - it is now available on etsy - HERE.  

So today I wanted to spread the tablecloth out on the round table and see how far I had gotten.  I felt that it was about as big as the table top and all I would have to do is finish crocheting until it was big enough to hang down 12 inches.

It is just about to the edge of the table

OH NO!!!

What do I see?

Ruffles on the edge - where it should be flat

A big mistake in my increases - nothing to do but pull it all out, back to where it would lie flat again - see how close it is to the edge of the table.

Over half an hour later, 16 rows - about 7 inches - have been pulled out  and it lies flat again

But look how small it is - most of the summer's work - undone - but it has to be.  Unwanted ruffles in the tablecloth and it would never lie flat and I'd not like it.

This is what the ball of thread looked like before I started pulling out the crocheting

The one on the left shows how much thread I pulled out.  It is going to take me most of the winter to re-crochet all that thread.  If each row took about 2 hours to crochet and I pulled out 16 rows - that is 32 hours of crocheting.  I guess I'll have something to keep me busy on these blustery winter days.  

But it must be done - and I'm happy, not that I had to pull some out - but that I discovered the mistake before I got even farther.  I will be spreading the tablecloth out on the table more often now - you can count on that.

Have you had to take out a project and redo it?  Not fun I know - but necessary.  When you think of me this winter, think of me crocheting and crocheting - to catch up - and maybe even get ahead again.