One project down

I am trying to be better about this blogging thing. I've actually though about posting everyday, but every time I sit down to write about things I'm knitting, I realize that I don't have a camera with me in order to take photos of things I've knitted. So I decide that I might as well wait until I have photos. And then I don't post for days.

I finished the Boy Hat. I really like this pattern. It's really stretchy and happy, and I like the way the ribs come together at the top. If I had photos it would be easier to explain, but it's a really hat pattern, and fun to wear. I give it thumbs up. So far, I've only been done this one for an hour but my dad has stolen it and my mother wants one too, so it looks like I'll be making two more at some point. Probably after the socks, but I don't have the needles I need for the socks here so they may be delayed for a little while.

I'm still working on the lace scarf. Just after my last post, I messed up the pattern and clearly either added or lost a row of the pattern somewhere, so the knits and purls got flipped. I didn't notice that it had happened until 3 repeats later (this is what I get for knitting at 4 am). I had to debate if I wanted to rip it all back, and try to pick up all the stitches again but risk having to start over, or try and ignore it. I almost decided I was going to rip it back, but I'm not confident enough in the lace pattern that I would be able to pick up all the stitches again. I really didn't want to have to start over again, especially since I had to restart so many times. I decided to suck it up, skip a row of knitting (so that the purls were on the right side again) and continue on. So far, no one I've showed it too sees the mistake, but because I was the one that made it, it glares at me every time I look at the scarf. It's rather frustrating...

As my mother points out; if it's the worst screw-up I make while working on my first lace project, I should be happy. We'll see.

And now it's time for an attic yarn raid!

The Lace Scarf

Rather than start off my to-do list with an easy project like socks, or a straight forward one like the sweater, OR the one I'm already half done like the hat, I decided to try and tackle the lace scarf.

I knew that this scarf was going to cause problems, because I'm not always the best at counting patterns and paying attention all the time. I did not expect, however, to be on attempt #7.

Attempt #1 was just bad. Rather than try to work out the pattern first, I just jumped in head first and just knit. Then I got to the one row that has pattern, and it was a total disaster. I ended up losing stitches, and the pattern, and then had to frog it all completely.

Attempt #2 went the exact same way.

Between attempt #2 and #3, I realized that I should just sit down and knit one repeat of the pattern over and over, so that I wasn't wasting my time setting up and having to rip out a scarf-wide section. So with less than half the stitches, I spent hours just trying to get my brain to remember the pattern. Finall, I got it to work out.

I'm not going to detail attempts 3 to 6, other than to say that the pattern could have been written in a much easier way that would have saved my brain so much effort, and my hands so much re-knitting.

Here is the pattern I'm working from, in case anyone is interested or wants to try and guess where I screwed up repeatedly. (If it seems totally obvious, I blame the head injuries)

Things are going much better now though, I shall post pictures tomorrow-ish.