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...with Ginny.
Subtitled: One scarf and one lesson learned
Last week I shared a scarf I had started for my daughter, Faith. It was a lace pattern, something I am not at all used to doing. I'm not good at following a pattern. Yes, I can count, but there was no pattern in the pattern -- different stitches in each row, each row different from the next. I think eventually I would have gotten it, but I made a mistake I will never make again. Sitting in the car outside my son's drum lesson, I noticed an error in my knitting. There were too many stitches in the row before the one on the needle, and I had left the instructions at home. My thoughtful and wise self said "put it down until you have time to really focus on it." But my impulsive and impetuous self said, "just rip out a few rows until you get to one that looks right." Yeah. Well, guess who won? It was the late-afternoon caffeinated coffee (caffeine = impulsiveness), or maybe hormones. Who knows? But I sat there in the car and pulled the needle right out and started ripping. And can I tell you there was no end in sight? I never got to a row where I thought I could put the needle back in and keep going. All was lost.
Alas, I started over on a new scarf, and I used a simple seed stitch that I could knit quickly and without much attention. Before the scarf I made for my niece at Christmas I had not made a scarf in quite a while. I've now finished scarf number four and I'm tired of knitting scarfs. I have some yarn on its way to work on one final scarf for my niece, a lace scarf (I think this one) in this yarn in Blue Yonder. Rachel is having a tumor in her neck removed in early February and I thought she might like something pretty to wear over her bandage until it heals.
My read this week is Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. I always enjoy her writing style, her attention to detail, her characters.
Join Ginney, et al, at Small Things for more Yarn Along.
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The white scarf is lovely.
ReplyDeleteI think your niece will truly love the scarf you make her (the one you have in mind is beautiful). Prayers for her quick recovery and healing (not just physically, because the emotional bit is just as jarring).
Hugs,
S
that lace was so pretty...did it hurt your heart to tear out the stitches? i have tried knitting myself a lace veil about 20 times now and i do the same thing. since quiet knitting time is a NEVER in this house, i don't know that i'll ever finish anything in a lace pattern. anyhow, it came out so wintry and pretty! will pray for your niece...
ReplyDeletevery very pretty! enjoy seeing your creativity.
ReplyDeleteThe white-as-snow scarf is beautiful! Even If it's not what you originally intended it to be. I have a pattern for an easy lace scarf. You could definitely memorize the pattern. Here is a link: http://turvid.blogspot.com/2009/03/free-pattern-one-row-lace-scarf.html
ReplyDeleteWill pray for your niece. A scarf will be a comforting gift as she heals.
praying for her quick recovery and I think the scarf is so lovely, sorry about all the ripping, sadly I've done it more times than I'd like to admit xxoo
ReplyDeleteOh it is painful to rip out a project. I think the new one looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteI've been considering lace, my sister sent a Valentine's Day craft magazine to me and there was a pretty yellow scarf in a simple (so they promise!) lace toward the back.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah. She is anticipating a quick recovery, but then 18 year olds think nothing can get them down!
ReplyDeleteRegan, by the time I had ripped out a few rows I was just mad! ;-)
Checking out that pattern, Sarah!
Good to hear I'm not alone, Meredith. I will never again just pull the needle out, however!
Thanks, Jen. You're sweet.
S/V -- give it a shot. The yarn I linked to came today and it is so light and pretty!
I have only had the nerve to try Ginny's baby hat with a bit of lace, and I will admit, if I get off track somehow, that's it--it gets ripped back to the start of the lace pattern. I, too, find it impossible to find a place to get back into the pattern.
ReplyDeleteBetter to do a great job on a simple pattern than a poor job on a complex one! Your scarf is lovely!
OH man!! I can see myself doing the exact same thing you did! I will remember, and NOT do it. This scarf you made is really pretty. I like the stitch and the tassels.
ReplyDelete