So the yarn arrives, and I dutifully finish the thumbs of those beaded gloves I keep tempting you guys with. But the call of new yarn was too strong, and I did not finish the cuffs. Meaning it will be a bit before I can post those - because I really, really want to show off FINISHED projects. If I show those now, they will NEVER get finished. Anyway....
I broke out the new yarn, wound a skein into a ball, and dove into the Shipwreck Shawl patten by Bethany Kok as seen here. It is now 12:30 am... (had a late start since I taught a card class last night).
Unfortunately, as soon as I went to cast on I discovered a daunting little ditty of a beginning... The "simple" ring cast-on as described here. Maybe it was the late hour or a tired brain, but this simple cast on took me an hour!!! Ack... After much muttering/cursing under my breath I had my "aha" moment, and broke into the Halleluiah chorus as I pulled my cast on tail, and the simple ring actually squished down into a ring shape!
I kept knitting and knitting into the night, pausing to chat with my friend Christine who was up late too. At 2:30 when I went to bed, this was my progress... not bad!
Sammie had school today, and a visit with her Grandma "Ree" so I had some time to work on my shawl today. Unfortunately my counting wasn't so great the night before, and I found a ton of mistakes. So at about 11:45 this was my attempt to take out just the rows with mistakes:
And this was what was left.... sigh. But at least I didn't have to redo the dumb ring cast on!
I continued knitting through the afternoon with the screen door open listening to the "ocean" sounds created by the freeway near our house. It was a gorgeous day and I *almost* felt guilty for not being outside. But, having stayed inside I'm now a few rows farther along than I was before ripping it out - and without any mistakes.
I'll post another picture of my progress in the next day or two. I just wanted to show you all that beautiful knitting is a process, and often you have to rip out the ugly bits before you can make something truly wonderful. So don't be afriad to rip out the ugly bits!
3 comments:
I think I have definitely decided not to learn to knit now. lol. If I am dying to have something made I'll just pay you to make it instead.
What a gorgeous shawl! You are very ambitious and I know JUST what you mean in your post. Aggravating at the time, but oh so worth it in the end.
You inspire me so, Nona! If you only knew...
Well you're off to a great start! I love the color you've chosen. As a newbie knitter, I'm glad you shared your frustration, as a seasoned knitter. It makes me feel better to know that I really am NOT a dork and that I can do this. I need to practice more and have a bit more patience. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to seeing any finished projects you post.
**Love the bit about your 'ocean' sounds...you have such a positive attitude. That's great! :D
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