That Love/Hate Thing

{ March 16, 2010 @ 9:19 pm } · { FO, lacy bits }

Remember when I deluded myself into thinking I could finish a lace triangle in four days? Or when I made some comment about how yardage wasn’t a problem?

I know it’s up for me…

Yeah…so…as it turns out, yardage was kind of a problem. And because Delusion and I were already strolling hand-in-hand, I thought I could squeeze out that seventh repeat, then the edging.

Not so much.

Lifeline?

Ha! Delusion needs no lifeline!

So I tinked. And tinked. And tinked. And when I thought I had tinked enough, I started the edging.

Only to find I hadn’t tinked enough. So, I tinked more. Until finally…finally…I didn’t have to tink anymore. And an edging was knit. And a bind-off was executed. And a shawl was blocked.

Was it worth it?

…if you steal my sunshine…

Absolutely.

It’s beautiful.

…making sure I’m not in too deep…

I did not use the chart for my version of the “Gail (a.k.a. Nightsongs)” shawl (Rav link). It made my brain hurt a little bit. So, I used the handy PDF unchart (which you can get through this Rav link), and that worked out really really well. I also used a crap-ton of stitch markers to stay on track.

(Sidebar: I usually just use little knotted loops of scrap yarn for stitch markers, but I actually bought pretty markers just for this project…so it would be a happier knit…they only kind of helped, to be completely honest.)

…if you steal my sunshine…

My problems with this project were just that: mine. My miscalculations and my inability to read. The pattern itself demands that you pay attention. As long as you can do that, though, you end up with a gorgeous piece of lace. It’s really quite a striking pattern.

…keeping versed and on my feet…

I started out loving this, hated it for a little while, then fell back in love with it again as I slipped it on my blocking wires. It was truly that love/hate thing, and I haven’t felt that with a knitting project in a really long time.

…if you steal my sunshine…

Finally, in closing, I must say a word about this Whorled Peace superwash merino sock. At first, the yarn had a sturdier hand than I expected. But it blocked into a substantial, drapey fabric. The stitches are crisp and the definition is fantastic. And it was really wonderful to work with, and I’d totally recommend it.

It’d make a lovely pair of socks, too.