Thank the gods for lifelines!

GAH!!!!! Moron! *smacks self in the head*

So, the past couple of days, I've been happily working away at my Vernal Equinox shawl. I started Clue 5 after I picked up the stitches on the lifeline. I had the right number of stitches on my needles to do it, and everything. Only, I didn't look carefully enough at the work I've done so far. I'm pretty damned sure I forgot to do Clue 4, which requires the same starting number of stitches. What an idiot. I want to check this very carefully one more time to make sure I'm correct, but I'm pretty damn sure I have to rip out the last six rows I've done (and these are 245 stitch rows, folks) and then start on Clue 4.

Note to self: you need to own more than one row counter if you have more than one project on the needles at a time, woman. Time to hit up the LYS.

Going green

I've been making decent progress on the Seascape stole. I finished the first repeat of Chart B, and have done six rows of the next repeat. Today, though, I decided to get my Vernal Equinox shawl back on the needles. Fortunately, it appears that I started picking up stitches with the Denise needles at the more difficult side of the row, so the hard part was out of the way already. I slipped all those stitches onto the Harmonies, and then finished picking up the rest of the row. Miraculously, I found I had exactly the right number of stitches on my needles when I was done. I'm now working on Chart 5 for that pattern. I'm finding that while I do love the Seascape and the Kidsilk Haze (oh, it makes such a pretty, frothy fabric!), it's none the worse for a change. I don't think there's any chance of my actually finishing this shawl by Ostara/the Vernal Equinox, but I should be able to finish it this spring.

Truncated

1) I still haven't fixed my damn Aeolian! Now that I know I can knit again (see #3), I need to remember to do that when I get a chance.

2) I DID, however, fix the tiny hole I found in my Seascape. It was a dropped stitch, though I seem to have picked up something above it to keep the same number of stitches. Somehow. I dunno. Anyway, I feel kind of bad because it was a fudge-fix: I took a small length of yarn from another ball, passed it through that dropped stitch, and wove it through surrounding stitches to secure and hide it. It's a cheat, yeah, but it means SOOOO MUCH less work, especially with that persnickity Kidsilk Haze.

3) So, Saturday night, I maimed myself. I sliced the tip of my right ring finger off with a mandoline slicer while making dinner. Ow. I couldn't knit at all for the first two days because the bandage the ER put on me was HUGE, and made my finger look like a chicken drumstick. But now I just have a normal Band-Aid, and the position in which I hold my hands to knit doesn't bother it. Yay! I'd had a bad cold for a while before I hurt my finger, and didn't have the energy to deal with fixing stuff before doing actual knitting, so that prevented me from getting any work done for about a week in total. I got a couple rows done on the bus this morning. I'd have done more, but there's this guy who's on my bus who introduced himself to me yesterday (he lives in my neighborhood), and likes being chatty. At least I've let him know I have a boyfriend.

4) I need to knit my friend R. a chemo cap of some kind. She is someone I know only online, but I've known her online for a while. She has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, and is going to start chemo soon. She's a knitter, too, and has requested hats from her fellow knitter friends. I'm thinking maybe a Hallowig. :) Man, I hope she's going to be OK. She has a young daughter who I'd hate to see grow up without her mom around.

5) I also need to get my Vernal Equinox back on the needles. I managed to put one of my Denises about halfway through along the last lifeline, but the cable on that is so thick, and the tips are so blunt, that it's a real bitch. Now I have my new Harmony Options tips, and can throw it on those. Weekend projects!

Hey, how'd that happen?

I was eating breakfast at my desk this morning while wearing my Aeolian, and spilled a little yogurt on it. Not the end of the world. I went to dab it with a wet paper towel in the ladies' room...and was shocked to find three stitches at that spot that were unraveling! Wow! Looks like I flubbed a decrease somewhere and dropped them. Grr. I took off the shawl, and managed to catch them on a paper clip (no stitch holders in my bag right now), so it's at least stable. There's no way I can actually fix this properly (i.e., by undoing the bind off and bringing those stitches up to where they're supposed to be). I'll have to wing it, somehow. I can figure out a good fudge, I think. It pisses me off, though! OTOH, I can't believe it lasted this long without getting completely messed up and unravelled. Nifty.

No pictures, but an update

I realized it's been a while since I posted here! Since my last writing, I have received the new Harmony Options tips and cables I'd ordered. I also got the lace book I'd ordered. I haven't yet looked through it, but just a quick flip looked very interesting!

While I was waiting for this stuff to arrive, I hit up my good old LYS, Windsor Button, and picked up not one, not two, but THREE balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Mmmmm....Kiiiidsiiiilk Haaaaaaaze. *drool* I used the gift certificates my manager gave me last year and this year for the holidays. I wanted to get the yarn in a smoky grey, but when I was at the store, they didn't have it in that color, or any color I really wanted. I sort of liked the idea of using the white they had, but was terrified of getting it stained. I asked the staff if they had any in grey in the back, and much to my surprise, they had a whole bag of it! I got my three balls and left, delighted.

I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I was thinking of trying Ice Queen and maybe something else, but ended up choosing the Seascape stole. It's a beautiful, delicate, elegant pattern that goes well with anything. So far, it's enjoyable to knit with the KSH, but any time I need to UN-knit, it's a huge pain in the ass. On the plus side, though, if I drop a stitch, that same stick-to-itself quality means that it doesn't go far.

I've finished Chart A, and have started Chart B of the Seascape stole. I figure, I'll finish one repeat of Chart B (there are 7 in all), and then maybe do some work on the Vernal Equinox shawl. Or knit my friend R a chemo cap of some kind. Probably a Hallowig. Poor woman, she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. She's got a little girl, too. I don't know her in person, but we've been friends online for a while, and I want to give her something.

Anyway, the knitting does proceed apace. I haven't had one of those, "AAAARRRRGHHHH! I can't stand it! I'm putting this away and not touching it!" moments in quite a long time. My only break in knitting was by necessity, and it was short.

Interim

So I still haven't placed my Knitpicks order for new needles. I suppose I should do that tonight, after I've had a chance to recheck my Options and see if I am in fact missing one of a pair of needle tips (on top of the pair I know I'm missing, the cable that was attached to them, and the pair that's broken). I don't remember now if I discovered that the lone needle was in fact the broken one, or if it was another size altogether.

I have, however, knitted a pretty spiffy necklace.



I did order another knitting-related thing today: a copy of Creating Original Hand-Knitted Lace, by Margaret Stove. Apparently, it's very good for learning about how lace is constructed. I'd love to design my own shawl, stole, or scarf someday!

In withdrawal

Here I am at my parents' house for the holidays. I should have knit a ton by now. I should have finished the chart I'm on. Alas, I have not knit a single stitch. Why? One of my damned Harmony Options tips I was using BROKE. Broke right off at the bottom. I flipped out. The only other circs I had in that size were my Denise Interchangeables. Unfortunately, they're incredibly blunt, with a really thick cable. This made it nigh impossible to pick up the stitches from my lifeline. I started getting a headache when I tried, and then I put it back in my knitting bag.

I already needed to place a Knitpicks order to replace the size 6s I lost, and to get some longer cables (for Magic Loop), but now I need a new set of size 5 tips as well. *sigh*

I think I might have to start a quick small project in the meantime when I get back to my place. Maybe that "string of pearls" style necklace I wanted to make. It's been a bit depressing having NO knitting to do. At least I've had The Lord of the Rings to keep me company, while my mom and sister and sister's roommate play Wii all day and my dad works. Tonight, though, I'll be coming home, and I can knit and watch whatever movies I want for as long as I want. Yay, vacation!

Big bright green knitting machine

I started Clue 4 yesterday! This one seems to go faster from repeat to repeat since the repeats are much shorter than they were on the third chart, but now the rows themselves are twice as long! I can only do about one row on my morning bus ride! Still, I'm taking a nice LONG vacation--about a week and a half--around Christmas time, so I'll have plenty of other time to work on it. I still don't much like the yarn. SOOO SPLITTY. And with yarn this thin, if it splits and I don't catch and fix it, it's almost certainly going to rip in the blocking. This makes me nervous. I'm not going to get stuff from Newton's Yarn Country again, I think. I'll stick with DNBY for my cheap-ass yarn, thankyouverymuch.

I was thinking, "Hey, if I really love this shawl but hate the yarn, maybe I should give it a second go with a nicer yarn afterwards." But...no. I can't do that. There are too many other beautiful things to knit. I want to try Damask, and Echo Flower, and Shipwreck, and Haruni, and one of the EZ 100th Anniversary ones. At least. And that's just SHAWLS. I also want to finish that damned pair of socks hibernating in my drawer (NO MORE SOCKS AFTER THAT unless they're kilt hose for my man), and I do eventually want to knit a sweater. And other odds and ends.

Shiny of the day: Sanguine Gryphon has their latest yarns up for display, though they aren't yet up for sale. You can see them on their blog. Oh my. *swoon* They are GORGEOUS. Must have.

I think that at some point, I'm going to take a break from knitting on this VE shawl and use that sparkly brown yarn I got to do something new. I found a pattern for a cute necklace. Basically, it's three strands of i-cord, all attached at each end to a tab that has buttons and a buttonhole to fasten them together into a circle. You wear it by giving the whole thing a twist to twist the cords together, and fastening it behind your neck. I think it'll be adorable in the sparkly stuff!

Join us or die!

I'd put aside my knitting (still working away at the Vernal Equinox shawl) for a few days because 1) I was super-busy, and 2) I needed to look up the Russian join technique while I was at home and had time to do it. I did so this evening. I was a little worried because of the loosely plied 2-ply yarn I'm using--I wasn't sure it would work. It seems to be holding fast, though, which is great! It looks so much better than weaving in ends in such an open pattern, IMO. So, yay! New thing learned! I only did a few rows this evening, because I want to be able to enjoy my scotch and Raiders of the Lost Ark, but now I'll be able to work on it on the bus again. I just hope it doesn't rain again tomorrow, so I can bring my knitting bag to work without worrying about it getting wet.

You know, I wish my family would appreciate knitted gifts. I'd love to have Christmas knitting to do...

ETA: This is the tutorial I used to learn the Russian join.

Things that really needle you

Beware, friends, the hazards of knitting on a very, VERY crowded commuter rail train!

I cast on for the Vernal Equinox Shawl swatch on the train on my way to see my family for Thanksgiving. I bound off a stop or two before getting off the train, and put my knitting bag down. Then my phone rang. I rummaged for my backpack to get it, knocking over my knitting bag in the process, I guess. When I got to my parents' house, I found out that the needles I'd been using were gone (the size 6 tips from my Harmony Options and a 16" cable), as were my Clover Chibi yarn needles and my BRAND NEW stitch markers--the whole bag of them. GAH!!!

I was so pissed. I blocked the swatch, and it turns out that the size 6 needles were really the perfect size. But, I wanted to get started on the actual shawl while I was on vacation. I ended up whipping out the size 5 tips and knitting really loosely, which was more comfortable than knitting tightly on 7s. I hope it goes well. So far, it looks fine. I've done the first and second charts all the way through, and am about 15 rows into the third chart. I do need to get more stitch markers, I think. I also need to order another pair of size 6 Harmony Options tips. After Christmas, I guess, since my mom's doing money rather than presents this year.

I'm not a huge fan of this yarn. It's really loosely spun, which makes it pretty splitty. But the coloring is turning out to be quite pretty, and I think it'll look nice when it's done.