Good Morning Everyone!
Let me just start by saying that this past week has been frustrating, extremely frustrating. The old adage of two steps forward and three steps back will likely be my epitaph. Am I being dramatic? Absolutely. But the fact I've actually been able to hold myself together, despite my patience being stretched to it's limits, deserves more than a gold star. The culprit? PRESSED FLOWERS CARDIGAN!!! Is it really that difficult? NO. Is it me? YES!! Do I hate admitting this? OMG I can't believe I am. The most frustrating aspect about my most recent "slip up" (very funny pun, FYI) is I really thought I was being careful by checking my work after every single row. I know this seems a bit compulsive, but after ripping back a good 5", one tries to learn her lesson and pay better attention. I am trying to remain optimistic, hoping that "three times is the charm" and it should be smooth sailing. Of course my hopes were dashed when I received a text from Andra last night, and I quote, "Oh boy, PFC shit just got real. Divided for armhole. Screwed that up. Doing left front first. Music off. Video off. Utter quiet. So I'm off the chart, knitting in the wilderness, trying to match up the flower grid while decreasing." Here's the best part, "Feeling like Thelma driving off the cliff." She goes on to say, "I think Louise was driving." I send her a selfie wearing my "Louise" hat (long story) and say, "I'm Louise." I could have easily gone straight into panic mode thinking about what lies ahead for me and this damn sweater. I realized Andra has forged the path, she's my little lighthouse in this storm of flowers, I can totally do this, safety in numbers. I'll spare you the details of the nightmare I had, suffice it to say, Amy Christoffers was in it along with Andra and there was discussion about my green line of shame...I was very happy when Bernie woke me up this morning.
I did decide to give myself a little break from my PFC yesterday and knit up a hat using Malabrigo's Noventa, they sent me a skein to play with. Because my week has already been trying, I wasn't surprised to find myself playing yarn chicken, I WON!!! Small victory but one I will take. In my opinion, you will need to use a needle with a good point on it, the yarn tends to split. I started the hat with a #10 Royale (metal tip with wood shaft) and changed to an #11 Dreamz (all wood). My Dreamz tip was better and worked with the yarn without splitting. I was doing an interesting stitch in which you pick up the strand between 2 stitches, knit the next 2 stitches then pass the strand over. This creates a lovely texture and was actually fun to do. I'll post pictures of the hat today so you can see how pretty it is. The pattern is called Elphaba which was on Ravelry but for some reason is no longer available (happy to share). It was also written for Rasta Super Bulky, Noventa is a light Super Bulky, but in my opinion knits more like a bulky. I had to do some math, change the needle size and stitch count but it turned out super cute. Just in time for my shipment of Pom Poms to arrive!! YAY, they should be here FRIDAY.
A little reminder that the KAL gals will be meeting this Saturday, January 28th, 9-11:00. I'm pretty sure we've decided to knit the Drawing Sweater, I'm going to wind my yarn, that's commitment. If you're still on the fence, come by, it's always a good time. Stitch and Bitch is tomorrow evening, Wednesday, from 6-7:30, I hope you can join in the fun. Make it a great day and I'll see you soon!
Katy
P.S. The beautiful photo was taken by Marcia Hagwood, isn't she talented???