Sunday, April 27, 2008

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Rainy Weekend Knitting

I somehow gathered up the willpower to go ahead and again cast on the 53 stitches required for this lace ribbon scarf. Maybe now that I've attempted to start this project like 15 times, I'm finally getting the hang of the pattern! I've actually made a good amount of progress, happily knitting away in James's room as he worked on his taxes. The weather is still grey and drizzly, and it just makes me want to curl up and keep working on it! I adore the way this scarf is coming out (even though it's only 3 inches long so far) and I get sucked in (just as with crochet) so that I can barely take my eyes off the yarn mid-row. Mmm, delicious.

I also obtained a lovely 50%-off coupon to Michael's (thank you to Kevin) and could not resist going there even though I was not in need of any supplies. After browsing the entire store twice over (and annoying James thoroughly with my indecision), I picked out a yellow ball of Lion Brand Pound of Love. So now I'm fully equipped for the next time someone decides to have a baby, I can bust out a blanket in no time. Theoretically.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Errors

Bahhh! I have ripped out the scarf after 24 flawless rows! I knitted for a couple hours while James napped on Sunday, and for another hour and half on the train ride home to Boston. The first full pattern repeat was just complete, and I was starting to admire my knitting proficiency and imagine the sophistication it would soon add to my wardrobe. Then I came to the end of a row and one stitch felt weird! This is a lacy pattern so the yarn does strange things when you make a mistake or get shifted off the pattern. I counted back and realized that I'd missed a yarnover in the previous row. Now, I can back-stitch like 10 stitches, but there was no way I'd make it an entire row! I attempted to insert my other needle a couple rows back, but ended up making more mistakes than I could fix. I was torn - rip it out and start over, or somehow keep going and have a giant mess (possibly just an ugly strip of yarn)? I knew it would not hold up to my chic standards with a mangled end, so I took a deep breath... and frogged it! Ahhh it was the worst moment of my day! Then it took like 5 tries to cast it back on again, with the yarn all wobbly like ramen noodles. Apparently I cannot complete this scarf without focusing 100% of my attention every time I knit. Poo.