Kung Fu Knitting

Before: After: FO: Flower Basket Shawl, by Evelyn Clark from Interweave Knits Fall 2004 Yarn: Aracunia Nature Wool Needles: US 9 Notes: The lace pattern was really fun. Most of the mistakes that I made came from forgetting to pass the slipped stitch in the double decrease. Checking at the end of each row saved my a lot of frustration once I figured out my lace knitting weakness. Lesson learned: In the future I will pin my project out every so often just to check for undetected errors. I found one in my shawl while blocking it. I've fixed it, but I'd rather not have any other nastly little suprises like that again. My big photos of the shawl didn't turn out so I'll have to post one a little later. Maybe a shawl action shot.

It's a lovely thing to be expecting something in the mail. If it's a suprise, you may have some vague expectations of what your package contains, but for me it's the anticipation that's the real thrill. And if it's a swap, on top of all this you have a warm feeling inside knowing that it was made especially for you. I've recently been involved in a stitch marker swap hosted by Lain over at While you were sleeping and I got my first set today from Robyn. I love the colors that she chose for the marker beads. The greens and olives go so well together. I can't wait to use them. I have been thinking about making another clapotis for my mother for mother's day, and I think this just decided it for me. Robyn's markers will work wonderfully for this project and the yarn. Thanks so much, Robyn. I feel lucky that you were my swap partner!! And thanks to Lain who did a great job of organizing everything. Can't wait to see my next set. :)

So I got the new yarn for Eris and swatched it out, but it's not going to work. I'd have to knit it really tight to get the correct gauge and I don't want to do that. It just wouldn't be doing the yarn justice. This new bag of Jaeger Shetland Aran has a little bit different feel than I remember. It's rather more like the samples cards of Beaver Slide yarn that I bought recently, in that it has a spongy feeling to it. So I dug out another old ball of it and sure enough it also has the same texture. Funny thing is, I used Shetland Aran to make the Celtic Cap and had the right gauge for Eris. Okay, so what to do? Knit something else, of course! Perhaps something that you have been thinking about knitting for a long time, something that you just bought yarn for because the yarn spoke to you in the store. The Flower basket Shawl, by Evelyn Clark. The picture is not so grand as I took it with my mobile but you get the idea. Right now, I am working on the sixth lace repea...

Thanks! For all the positive comments. It means a lot to me. Things are still confusing and messed up. But I am working on getting out of the mire. :-) So thanks again. Just to prove it, I have been doing some knitting and I can feel my mind coming out of it's numbness (if that makes any sense). Little ideas have been popping up, little fixes for this and that knitting problem, urges to design a pair of socks, etc. So I know that I am on the mend emotionally, at least for now. We'll see what the coming weeks bring. March WIPs It's March and I'm going to complete the Pomatomus socks that I started in January, gosh darn it! I've sworn it to myself. And here is some evidence that I am working on them. Actually they are further along than that. I'm on the gusset at the moment. I really like working with the Mountain Colors Bearfoot. The yarn feels great to knit with and the colors are just amazing. As I knit along, each new color brings to mind a different part of ...

I want to thank everyone that has posted encouraging comments on my blog and spoken to me in person. It's been really heart warming. Thank you. The last couple of weeks have been a roller coaster ride and I am still very confused about how I feel and what's going on with my relationship. I have a feeling that it's not going to end well and so I know that change is coming. I've discovered that I think that I am all right with that and that I might end up happier than I am now. It's scary, but it just might be true. So right now I am just trying to take comfort in the small things and enjoy what I can until things are more settled. In an effort to get on with regular life, I have been trying work out of my knitting doldrums and finally finished a piece this week at my stitch'n bitch. Really these should have taken me a week and not a month to complete, but better late than never. So, this winter I bought a season pass to the ice skating rink. It's outdoor an...