A Wheels Digression

 This blog has been dominated by the "needles" part for the past several years, so it was time for a "wheels" entry. 

A call was made last week.  A little town ( pop <3000) lost a soldier.  The Westboro Baptist Church was talking about protesting, because a funeral is of course the proper time to express political views. Thie Chief of Police had a little talk with the head of the local nursing home, who also happens to be the President of our American Legion Riders, requesting if he could round up a few bikers to escort the body home from the airport, to serve as a large and rough looking buffer in case there were protesters. A flurry of emails and phone calls went out.  The message was clear: please come, and spread the word to others.


My sweetie answered the call, and arranged to meet the others at our Legion parking lot to drive the 60 miles to the airport. He said that he hoped there were more than four or five, since it was short notice. Imagine his surprise: Our legion had 36, and the sister legion had 12 more. 

When they got to the airport, they couldn't believe what they saw. Nearly 500 motorcycles were there to escort this young man home. It was the lead story on the local news station. If there were any protesters, no one was looking at them.

But my sweetie and his bike got a little hurt during that ride. Someone cut in front of my sweetie, and wasn't paying enough attention to the bikes in front of him, so he went down.  My sweetie drove into the ditch, instead of driving over this guy's head only feet in front of him. So my sweetie broke a foot peg, and hurt his wrist. Not broken, just sore and swollen, but he couldn't work the next day.

Cost for new footpegs: $209. Lost wages the next day: $140. Value of honoring the sacrifice of a fallen soldier: Priceless.

Today it is all about the honor. 

Could it be that easy?

I tested my guage on my new  mystery project, and it appears to be twice as many stitches as the worsted/bulky weight pattern that I am modifying.  Doesn't that just mean I double everything in the instructions? 

That would be much easier.  That means I only have to change the actual design changes, and don't have to worry too much about the changes because of yarn weight. 

That sounds too easy.  I am sure there is a mathmatics explosion ticking away somewhere in my logic. 

My sweetie has only a vague understanding of knitting (and cares even less about it, but he loves me so he feigns minimal interest,)  but he does recognize yarns, so he can recognize various works in progress.  Last night, when he saw me casting on with silver yarn, he asked "What happened to the. . . .?"  Me: "The shawl.  The shawl is dead to me.  We do not speak of the shawl." 

At his look of dismay, I reassured him that I was not completely abandoning the shawl.  I was just taking a break. 

After all, I have already put a good forty hours in the ruffle alone.  It looks beautiful, or will when it is completed.  I will be back to it, and probably soon. 

Today, it is all about the admiration for sweeties who can't remember the word "shawl", but know what one is supposed to look like. 

A. B. S.

Anything But Shawl

After another month of dutifully knitting exclusively on the endless ruffle.  I have made almost significant progress.  One ball down, another ball halfway down.  A mere inch completed of the ruffle.  Last night, I knit for 2 1/2 hours, and completed 2/3 of a row.  On June 15th, I will celebrate the first (and God willing, only) anniversary of working on the Duchess shawl. 

So this morning, it happened:  I cracked.  I simply could not face another day knitting on the same ol' ruffle.  I couldn't even face the idea of knitting on the briefcase-appropriate sock in progress. 

I HAD to start something completely new. 

I considered the Swirl Skirt, since my sweetie bought the yarn for me as a birthday present.  Then I saw that it called for Size 5 needles.  The ruffle has size 5 needles.  That correlation alone made me immediately reject that project.  Plus, I am NOT going to buy ANOTHER size 5 circular needle because I was impatient one morning. 

So instead, I pulled out some prety dove gray yarn that I bought years ago in Poland.  I haven't been able to locate the pattern that fits the image that I have in my head.  I found something close on Ravelry, but closer inspection showed that it was an unspecified modfied version of another pattern.  Sp I have to modify the modification, without knowing precisely what the modifications were.

Also, the original (and probably the modified version) were in worsted/bulky yarn.  My yarn is closer to fingering.  So not only am I modifying the modification, but I am doing it with significantly different yarn weight. 

So apparently, I am just going to wing it.  Unless I come to my senses while I am still swatching, and come crawling back to the shawl. 

Today, it is all about the senseless. 

(P.S.  I took pictures, but I am having, er, techinical difficulties.  The printer is looking at the memory chip, but the computer is playing hard to get.) 

Kill. Me. Now.

The suicide ruffle is aptly named. It is that damned row that you start on Monday and knit all week. And still don't finish the row.

I am nearly finished with my first ball of yarn, and I am on row 6.

It was likely a wise move to order three balls for the ruffle. I honestly thought I would only need two, but I wanted a spare.

Meanwhile, the weather is turning warmer, and I have missed another deadline. For those who can't remember that far back, the first deadline was September 15th, the cruelly-imposed deadline for the Knit-along. The second deadline was Christmas (Ok, by this time I knew it was unlikely, but a girl can dream?) The third was less definite, but around the start of spring.

I have been working on this bloody British knockoff shawl for nine months. That is just insane. The monogomy requirement is long since past, but I still find myself obsessively devoted to the shawl. It is a matter of principal.

I will not let this ruffle defeat me.

Today, it is all about the obsession.

Circulars are Double Points too

First, the obvious question: "Did you finish the Duchess Shawl?" Um, no, I ran out of yarn.

I did finish the body. The decreases finally reached the magic number of 7. Seven the favorite number of prime afficionados, Harry Potterites, and Duchess Shawl knitters everywhere. So I dutifully started picking up stiches. On. All. Three. Sides.

About a half million stiches later, I realized that there was no way I was going to fit all these stiches on one circular needle, especially since I was only about halfway around. So I found another needle, and kept going. Three million stitches later, I had worked my way around, and realized again that while all the stiches squished onto two needles just barely fit.

Row 2: increase by one stitch on every stitch. (Translation for the non-knitting muggles: double the stitches.)

So I bought two more needles. I had to go to three stores to do it. Apparently there is some sort of run on size 5 circular needles in Lafayette.

I finished Row 2, so now there are approximately 100 million stitches on four circular needles, strung together like giant double points. And that is when I ran out of yarn. And realized that I need yet another needle, to have the "working" needle.

I can buy the fifth needle when the yarn arrives.

Today, it is all about Ruffle insanity

P.S. For those who prefer their math exaggeration free, I have not actually counted the stitches, but I estmate 1200 stitches picked up, so 2400 stitches after the increase row. If I ever get bored, or find that the curiosity is driving me crazy, I will count.

Tip to Tip

We are really down to the wire for the Duchess Shawl. Which is good, since I have been ignoring the chorus of "Aren't you on the ruffle yet?" wherever I go.

A mere twentysomething stitches across, decreasing 4 stitches every repeat, down to 7 stitches wide. I only have a few repeats to go. If I really buckle down, I may start the ruffle tonight. Ok, Ok, so I have thought that every night this week. Tonight I have a couple child-free hours, so as long as I don't get distracted by the Superbowl, I have a shot. I am straightening the ruffle needle cable, just in case.

The really annoying part is that I know that I am not going to have enough yarn. I need at least one more skein, maybe two. Maybe three. I have not ordered the new yarn yet, but there is a method to my procrastination. I surely have enough for at least one row of the ruffle, maybe two. So once I start the ruffle, I will have a better estimation how much yarn I need.

Today, it is all about the tips.

Sprinting to the Finish

The Duchess Shawl is finally getting close. It is only 60 stitches wide now, so each row only takes a few minutes. Plus the excitement is bulding. I am making the 60 stitch dash to the end of a Triathlon.

Except that my ride has forgotten about me and I have to walk home.

How many more metaphors can I come up with for the ruffle?