It gets better
May 8th, 2007 at 9:43 pm (Works in progress)
Still no camera, I have absolutely no idea where it could’ve gone.
And now I found out something incredibly stupid I did: When I finished the mystery project, I was itching to cast on a new lace project. I’d bought yarn for the Swallowtail Shawl from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits, and after seeing a shop model of the shawl at Borealis, I decided to cast it on. I breezed through the first sections of the pattern, the snowdrop lace parts, and on to the lily of the valley chart. I have been struggling with the nupps, so my progress has slowed significantly. Tonight while putting Arlo to bed, I realized that I’ve been *knitting* my wrong side rows instead of *purling* them. Oh good lord - I have so much work to rip out! I’d been wondering why it didn’t look like the shawl in the picture (which I like better, by the way), and couldn’t quite chalk it up to the fact I was knitting it at a looser gauge. Well, that revelation just hit me like a ton of bricks, I tell you. I am kind of angry with myself and mortified as well - I like to think I’m a pretty advanced knitter and to have missed such an obvious thing in the chart is a pretty big mistake.
I’m not sure I can rip this out myself - I may have to get help. And alcohol.
Susan said,
May 9, 2007 at 12:01 am
Ouch! If you are using misti alpaca = slightly fuzzy, you might want to chill/freeze your shawl a bit before trying to rip back.
Chris said,
May 9, 2007 at 8:51 am
Oh no!! Actually, that happened to me with the Shapely Shawlette - I messed it up about 4 times and restarted and the last time spaced out that I was supposed to be purling the wrong side. *sigh* I kept going because I liked it both ways, fortunately.
Deb said,
May 9, 2007 at 9:08 am
Oh - so sorry! I loved knitting the Swallowtail. I hope this won’t totally ruin the experience for you.
sunneshine said,
May 9, 2007 at 9:19 am
Hang in there!! I know how hard it is to rip out lace!! Although, I will say that the second time around is usually faster and easier since you are already familiar with the charts.
Guinifer said,
May 9, 2007 at 9:23 am
Oh, isn’t that just miserable? Second time’s going to be better though!
Robin said,
May 9, 2007 at 9:48 am
Ouch. I teared up a little reading that. I would expect me to make that sort of error, but not you!
I hope you find your camera soon.
Holly of HollYarns said,
May 9, 2007 at 10:40 am
I recommend a good bottle of Port for ripping back so much hard work. I am so sorry!
I am sending “the camera will be found” thoughts your way!
Catherine said,
May 9, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Total drag! Yes, yes, alcohol should help the situation a bit.
Jenny Raye said,
May 9, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Oh no!!! I did the same thing with the last TWO shawls I started. Sigh. Too much sock knitting for me. My muscle memory tells me to knit every round.
Chocolate. Get some chocolate, too, before you rip.
April said,
May 9, 2007 at 9:31 pm
That does not sound like fun. Especially since I know how hard it can be to find uninterupted knitting time with little kids.
Kerry said,
May 10, 2007 at 6:53 am
Argh, the things we endure. It’s always more fun to blame it on the pattern or the yarn - you’re sure you can’t come up with a rationale that puts them at fault?? We’re all groaning with you because we’ve all been in similar situations, sister. Chin up, this too shall pass.
Can’t wait for Saturday!