An Epiphany

Okay. So. On Saturday night I took a break from the Oakley Shawl and cast on the Alpine Shawl. The border is supposed to look like this.

On Sunday night I realized my lace did not look like the picture. I was also having trouble identifying which yarn over on the needle to knit or purl in places. This was most odd. I ripped back and cast on again. This time I noticed the yarn overs were twisted on the needle, but I’ve run into this before. If I knit/purl to the back loop the lace usually turns out fine.

On Monday the lace still did not look like the picture. I told myself blocking would fix the problem, so I finished the first pattern repeat. (I wish I’d taken a photo of that.)

On Tuesday morning I admitted that something really was wrong. My Alpine shawl did not match the picture, and blocking wasn’t going to fix it.

I’ve long had my suspicions that other knitters don’t have to knit/purl to the back loop of yarn overs unless the pattern specifically says to do so. It’s occurred to me in passing that perhaps I’ve been making yarn overs incorrectly. Victorian Lace Today has a well illustrated “Techniques” section, and sure enough I was incorrectly passing the yarn over the needle for yarn overs between knit stitches and under the needle for yarn overs between purl stitches. So far, as long as I knit/purl to the back loop of the yarn overs on the next row, this has worked just fine. HOWEVER, in her comments about the Alpine Shawl Jane Sowerby notes that the Alpine is “true knitted lace” because the wrong sides are patterned (not just purl or knit stitch). Apparently, knitting/purling to the back loop of incorrectly made yarn overs does not work on true knitted lace. Lesson learned – the hard way. Naturally.

On Tuesday night I ripped back and cast on again. Last night I finished the first pattern repeat. Now the lace border looks like this.

Not only did the lace turn out correctly, I find that making yarn overs correctly is a much smoother/faster motion than doing it incorrectly. Who knew? (Everyone but me, apparently.)

After the first pattern repeat was completed I added a lifeline. It has taken so long to get this far, and Sundara silk is really slippery. I didn’t want to risk losing my hard won progress. I don’t remember using a lifeline before, so I just guessed how to do it. Without giving it a whole lot of thought, I threaded the lifeline through the stitch markers as well as the live stitches. Wouldn’t you know, the next row of the chart required that the stitch markers be shifted over 1 stitch. Of course, I couldn’t move the stitch markers because the lifeline held them in place, so I had to drop them off the needle and add new ones.

(Sorry about the blurry pic, but you get the idea.)

The dropped stitch markers look goofy dangling there, but there they will stay until I add another lifeline and remove that one.

Another lesson learned the hard way. Sigh.

Here's the Plan (for now anyway)

After much contemplation, I've decided that the Alpine Shawl from Victorian Lace Today (page 36) is a pattern worthy of the Sundara silk lace weight.



Last summer I learned how to read lace charts, and I’ve made a number of shawls over the past year. Still, the Alpine is a rather ambitious endeavor for Ms. Instant Gratification.



I cast on the first time on Saturday (more about that tomorrow), and it’s apparent that I’m going to need a second “mindless” project to knit when I’m too tired to concentrate on lace. This will make the Alpine take longer, but I think it’ll save me a whole lot of tinking back and aggravation in the long run.

Now, I just have to choose a mindless knitting project.

Retail Therapy Cont.

Sundara yarn is like crack cocaine for knitters. One hit makes me crave more. When I had insomnia about a week and a half ago I ordered a fix. (Insomnia can be expensive.) This is 1,000 yds of lace weight silk in the Cobalt Over Mediterranean colorway.

Be still my heart.

Knitter, Know Thyself

The Oakley Shawl is finished - at last!

In a fit of optimism I assumed I’d have it done by midday on Saturday and would be ready to move on to something new and colorful. WRONG.

When I had 178 stitches on the needles and the shawl measured about 25 inches from the lower back to the neckline, I cast off – out of concern that I’d run out of yarn for the fringe. The shawl was definitely small but it would work in a pinch.

Adding the fringe took HOURS.

By evening it was done, but there was this much yarn left on the ball.

It was enough to add some much needed length to the shawl. Nancy must be rubbing off on me (isn’t THAT a scary thought?!), because I ripped back the cast off (this was actually the second time) and resumed knitting.

After a few more rows I began to hold my breath with each row because I wasn’t sure whether there would be enough yarn left over for the cast off and any extra fringe that would be needed.

When there were 192 stitches on the needles, I cast off a final time. After adding the fringe, there was this much yarn leftover.

I probably could have gotten at least one more row out of it, but it just wasn’t worth ripping out the cast off one more time.

Here it is in all its glory:

Specs:
Pattern: Oakley Shawl – Berroco pattern leaflet #225
Yarn: Berroco Suede (6 balls)
Colorway: Hopalong Cassidy #3714
Started: May 2006? (The yarn was purchased at the end of April 2006)
Finished: August 5, 2007

Comments:
As I’ve remarked (whined about) before, I found knitting the suede tedious because it’s a ribbon yarn, and I took pains to keep it flat. The project languished in the UFO pile for a long time because the knitted fabric felt a bit rubbery (not bad enough to say “ew” though). Despite all of these complaints, if I had it to do over again I would have ordered an extra ball or two of yarn so I could make the shawl larger.

I’m really glad I finished the Oakley, but now that it’s done I’m not sure how much wear I’ll get out of it. I like to look a little funky sometimes, but with the fringe this shawl may be over the top.

The real moral of this story is that in the future I should avoid any project (no matter how cute) that:

1. involves ribbon yarn; or
2. requires endless garter stitch

Let’s face it, I have the attention span of a gnat and not much in the way of self discipline when it comes to sticking with a knitting project once the newness wears off.

The Eagle Has Landed

The boys made it to Brian's apartment safely. John sent text messages when he arrived in Philly and at Logan. Brian called at 1:30 a.m. to say they'd arrived at the apartment. (GUYS, THANKS FOR REMEMBERING.) I can relax (a little) now. They're 18 months apart in age. When they were growing up they argued about EVERYTHING. I called them the "Bicker Brothers." Time and distance have worked wonders. They're really close now. They should have a blast this weekend.

While I was waiting to hear from John, I did a little redecorating here at PU&K. Teresa and I started this blog together, but T's had to bow out due to work, school, and family commitments. I thought I'd change the appearance of PU&K to reflect the change.

None of the Above

Check out Brian's blog entry from last night. Two things are apparent:

1. I'm not the only one in the family who worries out loud; and
2. Brian did not read my blog yesterday.

Last night I left him a voicemail asking him to call me. I'm still hoping I can persuade him to take a cab from Logan to his apartment.

You may recall that I had a little insomnia last week. As long as I was awake, I posted an entry to the blog. At the end I pondered how to make good use of my time. Listed options included: writing a sonnet, learning to paint, cleaning out the garage, and knitting (of course). I did none of those things. Since I was on the computer I engaged in a little retail therapy.



Yup. I purchased more Rowan Summer Tweed - this time in the "Brilliant" colorway - #528. (Ellenmarie recently commented that I run in streaks. When I find a yarn I really like, I make several projects with it before moving on to something else. It's true.)

The plan is to make a Sunrise Circle Jacket - IF I ever finish the Oakley Shawl. Last night I finally had the requisite 175 stitches on the needles. The pattern said the shawl should be 25 inches from the lower back to the neck. I was dubious, but I cast off anyway thinking the weight of the fabric might stretch it to make it that long. It didn't happen. The shawl measured 23 inches. I tried it on, and it was too entirely too small. So I ripped back the cast off and resumed knitting. I still have about 2.5 balls of yarn. The problem is, I'm not sure how much of that I'm going to need for the fringe. There are 2 balls of the suede in the same colorway but from a different dye lot in my stash. If I use up too much of the correct dye lot by making the shawl too large, I may have to mix the yarns from the 2 dye lots for the fringe. I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's an option.

Fear Itself

The older your children get, the harder it is to be a parent. Tomorrow night I’m going to put my younger son John (age 19) on a plane to Boston to visit my older son Brian (almost 21).

Brian’s taking a course at BU and sharing an apartment in Brookline for the summer. It’s his first experience living off campus and his first summer away from home. He’s learning to live on a shoe-string, and he’s having the time of his life. Every week or so he calls or sends me an email to thank me for making this happen. (We have a deal. I paid his tuition, and I’m helping him with rent and living expenses. In exchange, he’s promised to do the same for my grandchildren someday. Every kid his age should spend a summer in a place like Boston.)

I’m not sure whether John purchased his own plane ticket or he had help from my ex. His flight departs at 8p, and he’ll arrive in Boston very late tomorrow night - so late that Brian’s expressed some concern about getting from the airport to his apartment at that hour. He’s dependent on public transportation. Logan Airport is not in the best part of town. (Brian mentioned something about a tourist getting shot by a roving gang recently.) He wants to be frugal and take the subway. I’m sending cab money with John.

BRIAN, FOR YOUR MOTHER’S SAKE, PLEASE TAKE A CAB.

I’ve worked with victims of crime (domestic violence and survivors of homicide) for years, and I can tell you from experience that Churchill got it wrong. There’s more to fear than fear itself. Bad things happen – ask anyone who’s been to Iraq or Afghanistan or knows someone who has.

When confronted with any situation that might incur risk, my sons have been taught to ask themselves this critical question: Would it scare my mother if I do this? If the answer is “yes” DON’T DO IT.

Needless to say, I’ll be counting the hours until they call to tell me they’ve reached Brian’s apartment in safety. (BOYS, FOR GOD’S SAKE PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO CALL THIS TIME.)

Thank goodness for knitting. It’ll help me stay calm (sane) in the meantime. That, and maybe a glass (or two) of pinot grigio.