This is week 17 of the ABC with the Accidental Knitter meme.
My letter Q is for Quick
Sometimes (okay most times) I just want to be quick with my knitting. I see a cool pattern and I imagine myself instantly wearing it or giving it as a gift to someone special...like tomorrow.
Take for example my current project. After all, over 1800 others have knitted the Holden Shawlette. I should be able to whip it up in no time and be really quick about it...right?
Not so quick. As you can see by my project page, I started this 2 weeks ago. I have re-started it twice. Tore it out to the life line three times. Counted and re-counted stitches over and over.
Okay so, I finally successfully get past row 5 of the lace part and onto row 6. Whew. I'm on a roll now. Row 6 - even number row, WS, so naturally I purl. And then as I am reading the directions for row 7, I notice the directions clearly state that Row 6 was supposed to have been knitted. AARGH!
Tear it back to the life line (which I placed just before the start of the Lace part) and the life line frays and gets tangled in the stitches and I scream and tear the stupid life line out.
I rip back to row 90 of the stockinette part, knit two more stockinette rows and I am back to the Row 1 of the Lace part.
I have this thing memorized by now. Don't even need to read the directions. Nope, not me, I can quickly get through this.
I knit Lace row 1. Count to make sure I am on track. Great so far.
Lace row 3. Perfect! Right number of stitches and everything.
Lace row 5. Couldn't be better. Don't even need to count...You know where this is going, don't you?
KNIT row 6. Not gonna fool me twice.
Complete row 7. Yeah! I finally made it past row 7.
Onto Row 8. Maybe I should count my stitches, just to make sure...
I am 14 stitches short. 14 stitches! How did that happen? Can't I just add 14 stitches evenly spaced?
I know, I know. This is lace we're talking about.
At midnight last night, frustrated, I bunched the whole thing up and threw it in the bag.
First thing I think of when I woke up this morning...I know why I am 14 stitches short.
Directions for Lace row 5...There is that extra yarn over BEFORE the K2tog.
So now I am not so quickly un-knitting back to Lace row 3. Yes un-knitting...because I was soooo confident that I figured I didn't need no stinkin life line!
And NO I am not going to QUIT!
I was knitting a shawl this weekend and I found a mistake like 9 rows back that screwed up all my counts, and tinking back was not a possibility. It would have taken me many long hours because I was already in row 50 something of the shawl and I had to go back to 47. So I threaded a lifeline through the row I wanted as best I could and ripped back all those 9 rows I had just knit, hoping I had thread the lifeline well enough that I didnt' drop any stitches. =D
ReplyDeleteluckily this was a bit stockinette block with some YO columns to split sections, so I only had to fiddle a bit at the YO columns when I picked up stitches. Phew! I'm hopefully back on track, but I wish I had counted earlier. =D
(didn't mean tof this to be a reply, but my "Post" button for a regular comment is being fickle)
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating but HOW TRUE! I try to be patient but so many times I just want it to fly off the hook/needles and it just isn't how it is. And of course, the faster I go, the more likely I am to make a mistake.
I am sure the shawlette is going to be gorgeous (can't wait to see it)
Quick is not part of the vocabulary when knitting lace! I once timed myself when doing a lace scarf and it took me over an hour to do 5 rows. Patience is a virtue when working a lace pattern. Oh, and silence is golden when working lace as well. Hang in there, I'm sure it will be a piece to treasure when it's done
ReplyDeleteYep, been there. Quick don't do it. You will get there. Except if it catches fire like mine did just when mum and I had finally got the pattern to work. Some things just aren't meant to be.
ReplyDelete