This post might have been more amusingly entitled “two sticks good, four sticks bad” though I confess that now I am on to five sticks things are looking up, so five sticks are definitely better than four… but I much prefer two. I simply do not have the required manual dexterity – not for multiple sticks and laceweight silk yarn… Mind you, doing things with a migraine and blurry eyes… I was asking for trouble… but Clue 1 (hence the 1: above) was out when I checked my computer today and although I said I wasn’t going to cast on until tomorrow, well… I had to try.
So here we are, the first post relating to the first clue of my very first mystery KAL – Evenstar 1:1.
As you can tell – the news is not good news. I am struggling to get going and I am hoping against hope that blocking will make the shawl centre look somewhat more presentable than it presently appears.
It’s not so much the original cast on that causes the problems, though in this case I chose to tackle a new-to-me one (the Thom Christoph) that escaped my understanding (and Mr L’s) for a clear half hour. No, it’s the whole keeping-it-straight for the next few rounds that I struggle with – working out which is needle #1, #2, or #3, and keeping them in the correct orientations.
I think that I cast on five times before I finally got going. This is about par for the course with me and a circular cast on, though I think that I did one once in only three takes. I wasn’t using silk that time.
I’m in the rapid increase section, halfway through the 72 stitch part. Six more rows, and one doubling up to 144 stitches, and then I shall be ready to begin on the chart.
There is little to be said at this stage other than “Hey, I’ve started!” but one thing that I can say is that so far I am happy with the subtle variagations of colour in my yarn. It looks to me as though the lace will not be suffering a bludgeoning by the colour. That is a relief.
I can also note right now that I’m planning on taking this KAL slowly and enjoying the process. No races. No rush. It bothers me not who is the first to complete a clue. If I can keep pace with the two-weekly issues, I shall be happy enough. I shall be even happier if I can avoid errors and dropped stitches. I would like this to be a tink-free zone. There will be plenty of lifelines, I think. Even I am not gung ho enough to consider knitting a large shawl in silk without a safety net.
If you will excuse me, I now wish to progress to 144 stitches — and a circular needle.
Posts in this series will be numbered as above – by clue number and by numbered post about knitting that clue. There will be photographs I hope but in keeping with the spirit of the thing, I’ll hide the images behind links so that no spoilers emerge for those who may come along later.