Restless Knitter

I thought I’d at least try to fix the hole in the Maltese shawl. I could tell before I even got into it that it was going to be more trouble than it was worth so rip it went. I’m still being rebellious and not using a lifeline (aka I am a dumbass). Eighteen repeats in, so far so good.

Hey, here’s something you don’t see everyday. Every other day, maybe.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of this pattern. I really like the way it looks with multi-colored yarns. It’s perfect for car knitting, which is where this one came to be.

To keep from getting burnout on the shawl, I started a baby cardigan. Ahh baby knitting. It doesn’t have to be exact, within reason. It will fit some baby eventually. If only knitting a sweater for me were so flexible. Though I’m not sure I like the idea of thinking I’ll grow into something. This will be the Cabled Cardigan from the Knitting For Babies: Blankets, Booties, Bibs & More booklet. I was moving right along on this. Both sleeves and the back are done. The fronts are too. And then…

Seriously, why! You may have to click for bigger to see it but it’s still quite glaring for me. Why did I miss that one cable? Why didn’t I notice before I finished the whole front? Both fronts really, since I knit them at the same time. I’m not going to rip the whole thing out but I will have to rip down to the neck shaping. I will fix it while I contemplate only knitting garterstitch squares for the rest of my knitting life.

Daughter has gone home, making me very sad face. We had fun though. We went to Venice Beach to people watch, and while later watching Dancing With The Stars, saw the same man in gold that we saw at Venice. (Dudes, some of you do NOT need to be walking around in nothing but a speedo, yuck.) We also went to the the LA Fashion District. I’m not a big shopper (unless it’s yarn) and didn’t find anything for me, but I plan on going back when I have more time.

After picking up Daughter at the airport and arriving home, we took her out to show her where the rattlesnake had been. The little bugger was back. Unfortunately for him, The Man was home and the snake lost his head. Last night, a gopher snake decided under the deck would be a good place to get away from a barking dog. Once we got the dog in, he made his way over to the side yard. This one was probably 4 ft long. I have to tell you, I’m not too fond of all these snakes in and behind my yard.

Oh yeah, knitting. There has been some of that going on. I was searching for who-knows-what and came across something that was double-knit. The original search long forgotten, I moved on to looking for charts I could use and came up with this.

It’s a hotpad/potholder/dishcloth, I haven’t really decided yet. I used Sugar ‘n Creme, on a US 7. I’d played around with this before but had never actually made something. My original thought was a baby blanket I dreamed up in my head. After doing this small piece, I’m having second thoughts on the blanket. I enjoyed knitting this one but I’m not so sure I’d enjoy a full blown blanket. I’d also need to treat the edges differently. Sloppy is ok for this but not for a blankie. Oh, and speaking of baby blankets, I’m going to be a Nana again.

From some leftover Jaggerspun Zephyr

I picked an easy pattern out of a stitch dictionary and knit until I ran out of yarn. It was a partial ball so I can’t tell you how much I used.

After I finished the scarf, I started The Maltese Shawl from Victorian Lace Today (page 162) using the Misti Alpaca Lace yarn I got while in San Fran.

Oops, do you see what I see? There’s a hole. Yes, I know there are a lot of holes, however there’s one that is bigger than the others. It’s not supposed to be. It looks like when I did a k2tog, I missed one of the yo’s that was supposed to be in that k2tog. No one would probably ever notice but me, but it’ll drive me batshit crazy that it’s there. Because there’s lace knitting on both sides, I’m not so sure I can fix it. Should I attempt to fix it? Leave it? Rip since I’m not that far in? Attempt to fix it then get pissed that I couldn’t fix it and rip it? It goes in time-out until I can decide.

Since it wasn’t completely dry before I had to remove the pins, I’ll have to block the shawl again. I’ll show you pictures anyway. I couldn’t get a full length shot but here’s most of it.

I’m happy with the shawl but I could use some improvement on my corner action. You most likely wouldn’t notice it when I wear it unless I pointed it out to you, but look at this

Can you see where the double and triple joins started on the corners? Suddenly the join has long threads. I’d like to keep this from happening on the next shawl because it bugs me. Hints and tips on solving this would be great.

Saturday I met Beth at Borders for a little knitting time. I got to see her recently finished hoodie and it is so pretty. Someday I WILL make something I can wear. Out in public. Don’t hold your breath. I took a sock that I’d started long ago and tried to figure out where I’d left off. I didn’t have much luck with that so I worked on a hat for the baby. I ended up ripping it out and starting over on a larger needle. When that’s done, baby wants the blanket that’s in the latest Knit It! magazine. It calls for Cotton Ease, which I just happen to have.

Today I went to the CHG open house as planned, where I saw Jane, who won a door prize! It was a smaller event than I imagined. I didn’t expect large-large but I did think it would be larger than what it was. There were people demonstrating different types of weaving. I saw card weaving (which made so much more sense once I saw it in action), weaving on a 6 or 7 foot triangle loom, an inkle loom, a rigid heddle loom, cane weaving (I think), and 2 floor looms. They had several finished items that were amazing. There was a small child’s coat that was sooo soft and pretty, and some chenille scarves that were gorgeous. They let you try your hand at some of the weaving. The only one I tried was one of the floor looms. I spent quite a bit of time talking to one of the floor loom ladies and learned a few things. What fun! Now that all the house stuff is done, I can get back to de-rusting my loom. I still don’t know crap about the warping but I don’t care, I’m still excited.

Done done done!! As of 10:54 pm, the shawl is done! Well, it’s off the needles. Tomorrow it will take a little swim in the sink, then be pinned to the floor.

I’m looking forward to this weekend. Hubby comes in tomorrow morning. The realtor comes tomorrow afternoon to take pictures and sign papers. Saturday will bring a little knitting at Borders. And Sunday the Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild is having an open house, which I plan on attending. I don’t know if I’ll really learn anything but I’m excited anyway.

The grandson says he needs more hats. He also wants a handknit blanket. I have some yarn not in storage but not sure exactly what is in there besides Cotton Ease. Hopefully there’s some suitable hat yarn, otherwise I’ll have to go buy some.