YUCK *&%#

I began the front on Tilia last evening and discovered I relied on my memory for the lace pattern and have made an error. The repeat is for 9 rows. Row 8 is to be knit and row 9 to be purled. I finished with a row 7 and immediately started the repeat over. There are 9 repeats of the pattern which means the lace is 18 rows short. With the gauge on the size two needles it is about 1 1/2 inches. The length of the sweater back is correct since you measure from the hem to the armhole. My concern is that the lace pattern will not come up high enough and will kill the look of the sweater. Also, the lace is knit on a two and the stockinette is knit on a 4. Depending on where that break occurs, the fit could be a disaster. I know I should tear out and start again but all that stockinette stitch is a killer for me. I am afraid I will frog and send it to the pond. But the alternative might be that I finish the sweater and put it in the drawer which is not the same thing - it is hours of wasted work.

YUCK!!!!

Another New Project

I have started work on a sweater. It is Tilia by Elsebeth Lavold and the yarn is Hempathy. It is 34% Hemp 41% Cotton and 25% Modal. The guage is 30-32 rows and 22-23 stitches on a US 4. The yarn is more turquoise than this grey green that shows. It was a dreary day when I took the photos and could not go outside.

I carried my knitting with me to work today and worked on it some during lunch. I was scheduled to conduct a staff development after school today at a small country school. On the way back home on a little 2 lane country road, there was a horrible accident. I had to wait 40 minutes for the ambulances and fire trucks to clear the road enough for traffic to pass by, one lane at a time. I was able to finish the back and take it off the needles and cast on the front.

The yarn does not have any stretch but it does have a nice drape. I have made a larger size than I ordinarily do. I don't want the lower edge to be too tight on my hips. I would rather it hang loose. I hope I will be happy with the fit. I get discouraged knitting sweaters. It takes so long to knit and the fit is so critical. If I knit them more often I might have better luck guessing the fit. It is one of those Catch 22s.

Current Sock

Of course I have a sock going along with my other projects. it is the Garden Partie by knitting at knoon from the Cool Socks to Knit for Warm Weather pattern that I purchased from Jimmy Beans wool. The pattern comes with four variations for short tennis socks to be worked in a cotton-blend yarn. It is a very useful pattern as there are a variety of heel and toe treatments, as well as the stitch patterns. I have used a Sock it to Me - Esprit yarn from Elann.com and size 2.75 and 3.25 needles. The directions are for double points but I was able to modify the pattern to use my favorite two circulars.

The pattern has online support. There are links included in the pattern to online videos. Is that cool or what? I may get brave on my next self-striping sock and use the afterthought heel! I like the way the stripes look on the heel but I have been a little timid to do it. The video makes it look oh so simple.

Progress Report

I have been overwhelmed with home, family, health problems and work. I am not going to bore you with the details but it has kept me from blogging. However, I have been knitting and ready to share some photos.

My Pint O' the Waves shawl is nearing completion. I have 1 row left to knit. Why haven't I finished it if I am so close? I am so worried I am not going to like it!!! I have more money and time in this thing than I ever imagined and it is not quite what I had imagine. Also, I am pinning my hopes on the blocking and I am not sure how this yarn will block.

It is all my fault. I did not swatch. I fell in love with the yarn. It is advertised as laceweight but I think that it might be a little heavier. I never checked the gauge, it just looked OK. I started it for the Amazing Lace Race and true to the premise of the Amazing Race, it has been fraught with adventure, challenges, road blocks, learning opportunities and uncertainty.

The journey began in March on the 21st. I did not realize that I have been working on this on and off for so long. I guess this blog is a great chronicle of my knitting progress, or NOT!!! I blogged about my love affair with this yarn. The feel of it, the hand and drape were delightful.

On April 3rd, I show the progress of one of the panels. It is slow going as it takes concentration and lifelines. The color in the two skeins is very different and I have had to alternate rows. That seems to work. The gauge is working OK, not as lacy as I would like but I just can't move up in needle size as it is already going to be larger than expected.

May 15th presented the challenge of grafting the two panels together. I think I was successful.

June 1, I realized that I missed my first deadline. I had wanted to wear this to DS's graduation. I just couldn't finish in time.

June 6. Road Block #1. I had to suspend knitting as the two skeins were not enough. I had to order more.

June 24th. Road Block #2 - a serious detour called deQuervain's Tendonitis.

July 13th, the yarn has arrived. I am out of town for training and have a bunch of knitting time. NOT - I left the yarn at home. Road Block #3.

August 19th, one row left to complete. I have been stuck at this spot in the journey for at least a week. I am so afraid I am going to be disappointed. The lace is not delicate, the three skeins of yarn were all very different. I tried to modify this by alternating the skeins but the variations are noticeable.

I did not have any idea that I have been working on this shawl so long. Mom has hinted that she would like a shawl for Christmas. I guess I had better get started!!!! This time I will stick to the recommended yarn or I will at least swatch!

What Knitting?

It seems that Monday blogs always share the knitting progress that takes place on the weekend. Kool Aide dyeing, sock knitting, finishing projects, photos of WIPs. Our weekends are always full of home improvement projects or horse related activities. I have not photos, we have been to involved with the work to take photos!

1. We built a new dog pen. The critters have had free reign of the backyard for almost 10 years. When it gets hot, they dug large caverns to get cool. Sometimes they dug just for fun. It had gotten so that I could not mow the back for all the craters so we finally sectioned off a part just for them and we are slowly reclaiming the rest.

2. The kids have quit using the swimming pool. It was too much of a bother and the chemicals too expensive to keep up just for myself so we took it down. It was as much work to take down as it had been to build. We gave it to a secretary at work and wanted to make sure that all the parts are reusable. I guess that took about 3 weeks. We still have the filter and a ladder to take to her but the majority of 'parts' have been delivered.

3. We have laid sod in there area that had been a pool. It is taking a great deal of watering to get the sod to take hold, it has been sooooo very hot and dry. Thunder rumbled all around us today with nary a drop of rain!!!

4. So far, we have had 14 yards of topsoil delivered to fill the holes left by the dogs' excavations. I am so out of shape. This has been a real struggle with the heat, blood pressure irregularities and been tremendously out of shape.

5. For two weekends we have build horse jumps. The stands are built, the holes drilled and now we will paint. The circuit is beginning again. There is a small show next weekend. The following weekend we will take DS to college to begin his freshman year and then will go to DD's horse show. It should help to keep me occupied. Then we have a show every weekend in Sept.

My dad has been in the hospital for a week and I have been driving the 45 min. one-way to sit with him. He had a close call Thursday but came through and seems to be in remarkably good spirits. I spent the night with him when he was in crisis. He told my mom the next day that a nurse had been sitting in the chair in his room knitting. He became worried when he woke up and found her sleeping!!! He really teased me about that tonight! So I guess I did get some knitting done.

I guess this has been a post of random thoughts so I will finish with one more. While knitting in my dad's room, it struck me how many times I have used knitting or quilting to past the time during stressful times. When you look at the items later, the feelings and sounds and smells that you experienced while creating the craft come back to you. Have you ever had that happen? I think the heightened emotions imprint all our senses from that moment into what we are creating. My dad's condition was so critical, I really wondered if I would ever want to wear the shawl I was working on. Instead, I will wear it and remember the thoughts of my dad knitted in.