Good and Bad

Good: I finished one of the sweaters that I was planning to knit for my cousin's little girls.
Modeled here by the handsome Skates of the Chicago Wolves:
Bad: I have another sweater to knit, in the dreaded pink no less, before the 12th.

Good: I figured out how to get that knit on border started.
Bad: I really can't stand how it looks. I was having serious doubts about the shawl while I was knitting the main body, all the bobbles, but I told myself that once I started the edging it would look better.

It doesn't. And frankly I'm about ready to frog the whole damn thing and start something else.

Good News / Bad News

Good News: I finished the main body of my shawl.

Bad News: I tried to start the knit on border. 6 times. And frogged it. 6 times. I have no idea how to start it off...

Exceedingly Small Signs of Progress

I decided to try something a bit different last night when I settled myself down to knit. I took a photo of my shawl and the doll sweater.


Then I knit from 6:30 until about 10 and took another photo.


I could have cried.

Knitting Black Hole and That Book Meme

I’ve reached the end of my sanity with my shawl and all those damned bobbles. The shawl is at that point where no matter how much you knit, it never grows. Nearly all projects have a point where this occurs. Pick it up and you’ve got maybe 60 rows to go until you’re done. Knit for 2 hours and you’ve got 59 rows still to go, though you’re positive that you knit at least 40 rows.

I’ve been working on the main triangle of the shawl every day since I cast it on. I come home, settle myself in my knitting chair and dutifully work away at it, knitting bobble after bobble.

AND IT’S NOT GETTING ANY BIGGER!!!

I finally lost my patience for it, set it aside at 9:45 and cast on for another one of those little doll sweaters. I’ve got to finish two of them before I head out to Vegas in a few weeks. I cast on, knit the neck and the first button hole before setting it aside and going to bed. I figure a break from the shawl will help rekindle my love for it.

I’ve been meaning to do that book meme that everyone’s been putting up on their blog, especially since I’ve been reading more, so here it is: (no prizes for guessing what book I grabbed)

Grab the closest book
Turn to page 123
Go down 5 sentences.
Type out the next 3.

“The third door was that which we were seeking. Holmes knocked without receiving any answer, and then tried to turn the handle and force it open. It was locked on the inside, however, and by a broad and powerful bolt as we could see when we set our lamp up against it.”

The Sign of the Four
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Oh and by the way… thanks EVER so much for all the resounding YES! answers to my ‘am I a dork’ question yesterday.

I feel so loved. :)

Turning Corners and Turning Pages

I finally turned the corner, so to speak, on my lace shawl. The rows, which began at 242 st, are now only 137 st and are going much faster. I can do a 4 row repeat of the pattern in under an hour. Here’s what I have so far:

And here’s a closer shot:
(The top photo is truest to the colors)

I have to say, I’m loving the way this is knitting up. The bobbles make it more casual, so I won’t hesitate to wear it with jeans and a tee-shirt. All in all, I’m loving knitting it. I just… don’t think I’ll ever knit a bobble again if I can avoid it.

In Sherlockian news, I have finished reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and I have also read my 4th book so far this month!!! I think that’s more than I read all of last year combined. Up next I’ll be reading The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes during lunch at work and listening to The Hound of the Baskervilles at home.

Victorian Lace / Victorian Literature

I’m slowly but resolutely plodding away at my lace shawl from the Victorian Lace Today book that I got for Christmas. (Pictures soon, I promise!) It’s slow going though, mostly because you start with 242 stitches and decrease as you go. And working in trinity stitch isn’t helping the speed to increase any. Billions of bobbles!! But I do love the fabric that it’s producing, just perfect for casual dress over a pair of jeans. The knit on border is going to be interesting though, I’ve never done anything like that before. But I’ve never been afraid to try new things!

I really really hope to have it done by the time I go to Vegas in a month (28 days!) but it’s a little doubtful. I also need to knit up a hat (Ok that’s really only a day of work) and 2 more of the baby doll sweater/hat sets to give to my cousin’s little girls for their birthdays. Ok, maybe if I really work on it every day until I leave…

My newfound love for Sherlock Holmes isn’t helping my knitting progress. Or it wasn’t until I discovered that my library lets you check out and download audiobooks without going to the library! I downloaded the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and have been listening to Watson’s memoirs while I knit.

I think I might be reading a bit too much Holmes though. Twice now I’ve had dreams where I’m smack dab in the middle of a mystery with the pipe smoking detective. And I think I want to make a shirt that says “Baker Street Irregular” on the back.

Obsessive? Me? Now really, just because I reeeeeally want a deer stalker hat and have been contemplating carrying around a bubble pipe doesn’t mean I’m obsessive. Just means I’m an enthusiastic reader.

Doesn’t it?