Cheers and Tears

Cheers:  Stonecrop Top

The Stonecrop Top is finished!  Earlier in the week I finished the front of the top and blocked them.  Friday evening I started the finishing; seaming the shoulders and starting knitting the ribbing at the sleeves.  Last night I finished the ribbing and seamed the sides.  It is now taking a final bath to soften the yarn and even out the ribbing stitches.

Tears:  Birds of the Feather

I've come to realize that I am a lose knitter.  I learned this last year when my enabler and I participated in the Jimmy Beans Wool shawl KAL.  Her finished shawl was quite a bit smaller than mine.  She also had a lot more yarn left over than I did.  Fortunately, I had enough to finish.

Well, this year we are both knitting the Birds of the Feather shawl.  We purchased the kits last year at The Wool Gathering from Destination Yarn.  As I approached the last section, I started to realize I was going to be playing yarn chicken.  The last section alternates several rows of the fingering followed by several rows of mohair.  This is repeated 5 times.  In the third mohair section, I ran out of yarn about 30 stitches from the end.  I considered my alternatives and decided that since I had left some fairly long tails in my other mohair sections I'd snip those and tie them in to get the row done.  Part of my justifying thought process was that mohair is a rather sticky yarn and does pull out easily, as I learned when I had to rip out Section 9 earlier in the shawl.  So off I went, snipping and slicing.  Once the row was finished, I decided I'll just knit the fingering in pattern until I run out.  

Well, that plan didn't go so well.  About 4 rows into the fingering section, I noticed some of my mohair splices became undone.  I tried to piece it together, but made more of a mess of things.  I then noticed that I when I snipped off the tails, I probably didn't leave enough.  My shawl was in danger of unraveling at every transition that I snipped. I ripped out everything back to where the third mohair section started, cursing myself for being such an idiot the entire time.

It is now in timeout while I figure out what to do.  I'll finish the fingering.  It won't get me to the end of the pattern, though.  My biggest concern is the compromised transitions.  One thought I have is to  take pieces of the mohair I ripped out and do duplicate stitch along those rows and then weave in those tails.

Cheers:  Test Crocheting

I volunteered to test a new pattern from Life Is Cozy.  She is releasing a crocheted V-shaped shawl called Almond Shawl.  Somehow I started following her on Instagram.  I really can't remember how.  Anyway, since I was finishing up Stonecrop and close to being done with Birds, I thought I'd take a break from knitting and give it a try.  Friday I went to my favorite LYS and picked up two skeins of Baah Yarn La Jolla.  The top is Pink Promise and the bottom is Lemon Drop.  They are beautiful, summery colors.

Tears:  Knitting Temptations

My favorite LYS is closing.  I am absolutely crushed!!  The owner said that due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, the shop was no longer financially viable.  She held special appointment-only shopping this weekend to sell of her inventory.  I am crushed in more than one way.  First, it was my favorite place to get yarn.  Her selection was more high-end, but I always knew I got quality.  And she had wonderful classes and the best staff in the world.  Second, my husband always knew he could go there and get me the perfect Christmas gift, even if it was just a gift card.  Third, I had a dream that after I'm done with my grown-up job in three years, I'd ask Karen if I could work for her.

I guess I need to regroup and start thinking about what else I might do once I retire from IT.

Cheers:  Wikston Top

Last weekend my enabler and I went to a small shop that carries a small selection of fabric and yarn.  I had an appointment to shop there and was able to bring a +1 so I asked Cindy to go with me.  I bought the Wikston Top pattern and some linen.  Yesterday, I traced the pattern.  Today, if I have time, I'll iron the linen and cut out the pieces.  Ed has commandeered the desk I used for my sewing table, so I need to figure out what I'm going to use when I finally get to the point to sew this together.  It should be a quick project.  It'll be a nice diversion from my knitting woes.