Gail, Gail, the big fat fail

Rarely have I enjoyed a project less than this one. Never have I pushed myself to complete one that I enjoyed so little rather than cutting my losses and frogging it. Why I am doing this, I do not know. Because I have 10 shawls to complete this year and this one ticks another box? Well, that’s plain madness! I should just frog it and forget it.Yet I knit on.

I very much want to see Gail on the blocking mats today.

That’s how I felt yesterday too, and believe me, I had pushed my way towards that goal. I knitted furiously through the last pattern repeat, stressing all the way that I would have insufficient yarn for the border. But I knit those last 38 rows with a grim determination, believe me. The final 6 that were done yesterday afternoon were like doing some form of penitence.

I knit the first row of the border. The stitches didn’t fit. That was when I got that uneasy feeling…

Yep. Should have stopped at R32.

So I tinked out the entire afternoon’s work last night.

And now I am on the border and intend to get the damn thing done and off my back today. I’d like to soak it and pin it out by tonight if at all possible – and move on to a project altogether more joyful.

There has been other frogging.

I was gifted a ball of JaggerSpun Zephyr, I picked out a pattern to show it off – a Feather Duster Scarf. I cast on, set it up, knitted Chart A, then the first iteration of Chart B and… I don’t like it. So I frogged it and am going to try Miriam Felton’s Flutter Scarf instead – which oddly enough had been my first instinct for this yarn.

I’m not sure about Feather Duster. I think it might bore me to death – it’s a very simple and repetitious stitch pattern highly suited to a lace beginner – and yet… and yet, it clearly looks stunning if one makes the right yarn choice. Perhaps I’ll pop up to Orkney Angora one day and see what I can pick up – I see this triangle in soft fluffy angora, and most likely as a white. The pattern would make for good ferry knitting… so, it may be knit one day. After all, I’m a Yorkshire lass and I did shell out hard cash for the pattern.

Forward planning

In yesterday’s mail, a package from Alison at p2tog. Inside was a set of 3.25mm points and several new cables of assorted lengths – including a very long one (150cm). I am preparing for the mystery shawl KAL that I have signed up for with Susan Pandorf – the Evenstar Mystery Shawl. I’m lashing out on this one and intend it to be the big feature of 10 Shawls in 2010.

Lashing out indeed – I had made up my mind to evade my stash rule and to purchase the right yarn for this project. I even found a fairy godmother on Ravelry to do my shopping. She was to buy me 6 oz of Zephyr when she went to Webs yesterday. Sadly, Webs don’t wind off the cone on Saturdays and so we do not have our discounted price yarn.

I must return to the swatching routine and see what I can sort out. I cannot choose my beads until I know what yarn I am using.

Unless… unless… there is maybe another Fairy Godmother out there who can shop for the yarn for me and mail it over, if I PayPal the funds to them? It’s £8.50 for 50g here, and nowhere near so affordable as it is in the States.

Scary Lace

Also in yesterday’s post- this book – The Gossamer Webs Design Collection: Three Orenburg Shawls to Knit

I want to have a go at the square shawl before this year is out. I’ll be starting with the tutorial mini-shawl and then considering whether to follow the instruction to make one of the two other patterns before embarking on the shawl.

And now, if you will excuse me, I have the final 7 rows of Gail to thrash out…