This week's Tuesday Tip is less of a tip and more of a mindset shift, and it's around the idea of perfection.

If I could offer knitters - both new and old - one piece of advice it would be to let go of the idea of your handknits being perfect. If we want something to be perfect and to look as though we bought it in a shop we can just go ahead and buy it.

Machines make the same thing, in the same way each time. They churn out endless, identical items untroubled by fatigue, emotion or thoughts and feelings.

Human beings aren't like that and thank goodness.

Think about it in terms of an average adult sized sweater. It will contain 1000s of stitches all of which you have created perfectly. There might be a couple of stitches that aren't - why on earth would you chose to focus on the 1 stitch that's wrong, rather than give yourself credit for the 1000s and 1000s that are absolutely perfect?

Embrace imperfection - life's way too short to focus on the tiny imperfections, especially as they are the things that show our humanity.