The Downward Slope, That Points Upward

I always love the acceleration factor of the last portion of a knitting project.  As I breeze my way through the last part, my progress seems to accelerate.

This portion is short rows, to shape the crescent.  The first row was 25 stitches, and increases by three stitches each row.  Hmmm, when you put it that way, it is actually more of a reverse acceleration.  The rows will be getting longer each time, and will take longer.

This doesn't sound like a good thing.

Today, it is all about the premature celebration.  

  

Count's right!

I finished the last lace row, and I thought it would a good idea to double check my stitch count before starting the short rows. You know, if I had been a single stitch off, I would not have remembered to check, and would have discovered the error a dozen rows in when the whole bloody thing was crooked. 

Since I did remember, 243, checked and double checked. Spot on. 

I can't complain, but this is the sort of thing that lulls you into a false sense if security and forgetting to double count. 

(And I should stop typing before I launch into a tirade about people who don't listen to their lawyer, lie to their lawyer, then wonder why they are led out of a courtroom in handcuffs.)

Today, it is all about almost complaining about not screwing up. 

The 3 Inch Shawlette

 I am nearly finished with the lace portion of my shawlette, and it is still quite small.  Alarmingly small.  Only three inches wide, so far.  Even after blocking, that is still small.  I know that there is short row stockingette for the rest, to shape into the crescant that drape oh so delicately over my shoulders.

But there is only six rows to the short rows.  I have gone from shaws that are large enough fora professional   basketball player to  one for a toddler.

Oh, wait.  Repeat those six short rows 27 times.  Problem solved.

Oh, wait.  Repeat 27 times.  I am nowhere near finished.

Today, it is all about the incomplete inches,

Knitting from the gutter

It was a risque bunch of knitters last night.  At Knit night, Elizabeth was working on the Strip Tease Socks, which opened the door to the predictable puns and double ententres about table dancing and the oldest profession.

I withdrew a bit prematurely (pun intended) to join Knitterention in progress.  We got to talking about anniversaries, and I mentioned that my 7th was approaching.  Which led to a number of suggestions of how to avoid the infamous seven year itch.  My favorite was "That was the year we discovered porn."

After that, the knitting talk seems almost anti-climatic.

Almost.  I wore Fuchsia Wave for the first time to display for fellow knitters.  It is a bit itchy for short sleeves.  How could I not notice that during hour after hour of knitting?  The alpalca won't have that problem, right?  I haven't noticed a problem yet, but apparently, that is no judge.

Someone did comment that I have been rather shawl-obsessed the past two years. Yeah, so what's your point?

Today, it is all about the itches, seven year or otherwise.

Proof Positive

I have been doing knitting lately.  See?  I haven't been talking or writing about knitting, but I have been knitting.

I have finished all the nupp rows.  In fact, the lace portion is pretty much finished.

I am down to the decreasing portion, to shape the shawl into a crescent that drapes nicely along my shoulders.

My learning curve for lace remains to be slower than I would want.  By that, I mean that I don't catch on to what the pattern is supposed to look like until halfway through the knitting.  And by that, I mean that I start to notice my screw ups several rows later, too late to go back to fix.  I find myself making the adjustment in the row I am knitting, but I am still left with a nupp that is one stitch away from where it should be.

It really would be best if I did a test knit of the lace pattern.  Knit the entire repeat a few times over, so I can get the feel for where the stitches are going to be.

And while I am at it, I will test cook dinners every night, so I don't end up with a pork loin that smells like vomit.  Again.  And I can test drive to new places, to make sure I don't get lost when it matters.

Ok, maybe not, but a swatch wouldn't be a bad idea.

Today, it is all about the realistic and unrealistic tests.