04-24-2021

First day on the project, and so far so good. I did the Cable Cast On, which was a challenge, as small, dark, and triple-stranded as this yarn is (also, I never did that cast on before). It felt impossible at first. I thought of giving up. Then it all clicked, as usual, and I flew along. Well, if flying along includes frequent recounting of stitches. Thanks to Fiona64 for the inspiration on using it (among other tips).

I put a row of garter between the cast on and the set-up row. Things were too tiny and tight after I cast on, and this gave me a little slack and the ability to see which stitch I just did.

At the end of the day, I’m done with my 3rd repeat of the Pleats section. I’m using white stitch markers for Row 1 and red stitch markers for Row 2, which make this super easy and relaxing. We’ll see how the Zigzag section goes.

I’m excited to see the accordion-fold action already happening.

04-25-2021

Made it through the 8th repeat of the first Pleat Section. Having a lot of fun with this--a lot of rewarding results (sharp pleats) for such an easy knit (so far).

04-26-2021

Well then. That’s that. Let’s consider it a rough draft. Don’t mind me draping myself across the furniture in despair for the evening. Time to remember that frogging is an important part of knitting (as are lifelines, duh) and my projects only got faster and better when I restarted them. And at least I know now that my alterations look good.

I’m getting better at chasing dropped stitches, but this tiny 3-ply was beyond my capabilities today, and this pattern will show almost every flaw. :(

I was up to Row 26, in the Zigzag section. Sigh. Never did like that number.

I’ll start again tomorrow.

04-27-2021

Okay. I’m back in business. I did the cast on (cable) plus a row of garter--enough stitches for an extra three repeats. Much faster and easier than last time, and this time around the silver lining is that I have a slew of already-triple-plied yarn wound up and ready to go.

I’m using a 22” cable, and the stitches fill it up and overlap the needles just a bit. It will “shrink” as I add length and pleats, though.

~~~

Back to 5 repeats of the Pleat section. Maybe I’ll be back to where I frogged tomorrow.

04-28-2021

9th Pleat repeat. Would have gotten farther, but I was hit by a sudden fever in the afternoon and spent the next twelve hours shivering under a blanket.

04-30-2021

I finished the first Pleat section (having to frog the last two rows and do them over when I wound up with too many stitches--migraines and knitting don’t mesh well), and I’ve done the first 2 rows of the first Zig Zag section.

I’m still getting over whatever that sudden wallop of fever was and the migraine that comes with changing weather. Also, today was the last day of Camp NaNoWriMo, so I had to write like mad to make my goal and win. (I did.)

05-01-2021

I am now officially caught up to where I was when I had to frog the project, and then one row beyond that. I just finished Row 27, which is the first Pleat section plus six rows of Zig Zag.

05-07-2021

Finished my first Zig Zag section today. Now I’m back to a bit of an easier patch with the Pleats for a while.

05-13-2021

Did 3 repeats of the 2nd Pleat section today.

05-16-2021

5th repeat of 2nd Pleat section

05-18-2021

6th repeat of 2nd Pleat section. Would have done more but was feeling especially fumbly-fingered today and didn’t want to wreck it.

05-20-2021

Did 7th and 8th repeat of 2nd Pleat section

05-21-2021

Ach! I almost wrecked this thing today. I might have wrecked this thing today, but I won’t be able to tell for sure until I move on a few rows. I got distracted starting the second row of the Zigzag section and my eye went up to the row above it, so I did K8 instead of K7 and didn’t realize until things weren’t quite lining up midway across. I had to tink back. The problem was--how in the world do you tink a RT and a LT? I could not figure it out, and there was nothing specifically about that in my half-hour Google search. I just found someone who’d had the same kind of problem trying to tink those stitches back, but they never got an answer. I finally watched a few videos by VeryPink where she undid some cable stitches and increases/decreases, and sometimes she’d just drop the stitches involved, frogging them back a row. Now, I SUCK at frogging and catching stitches, but I didn’t know what else to do, so I tried that. My heart was pounding, and I held my breath the entire time, but I dropped the RT and LT stitches, clumsily got them back on my needles and redid the row. Things didn’t feel right sometimes, though. I know some were twisted and I’m not sure that I fixed them right. We’ll see eventually. Stupid me for not putting in a lifeline before, but I did so today, so I’ll be able to unravel back to this ugly row if I ever need to. I just couldn’t let the zigzag be aligned wrong with the pleats below.

05-22-2021

Did two more rows today (23 & 24, 2nd rpt) and it all looks okay, but I won’t be able to tell clearly for a while if I messed something up. The white lifeline is obscuring things, too.

05-26-2021

Smooth sailing today with Rows 25-28, then TERROR on Row 29. I dropped a stitch. Guess which kind of stitch I dropped it on? A left twist of course. It’s hard to believe how much fear and despair that causes. I made myself stay calm, figure out which angle that stitch was headed, and then watch a video on retrieving dropped stitches. I actually fixed it! (Mostly. Not sure I did it entirely right, but it’s back on the needle and looks okay for the moment.)

05-29-2021

Finished second Zigzag section. I’ll probably run a new lifeline through the first row of the upcoming Pleat section.

05-30-2021

Finished 5th repeat of rows in 3rd Pleat section

06-19-2021

I’ve been writing, editing, and critiquing all month. Didn’t realize it had been so long since I touched this project. Not feeling great today, so I only managed two repeats (4 rows) of a pleat section.

08-18-2021

I’ve been writing lately, both the normal stuff and a couple of NaNoWriMo challenges. (Writing is my true love and will always take precedence.) When I’ve found a few minutes to knit, I’ve been working on another project. But I’ve missed this Origami Shawl project and thought I’d try to get back into it. Just did one pleat repeat (2 rows) so far today but hope to do more.

08-23-2021

Two more rows. Two remaining in this pleat section before the zig zags.

10-08-2021

The start of my kids’ school year knocked me out! After a year and a half of quarantine and distance learning, I was so not used to rising before dawn, much less doing so and being expected to be in charge of rallying other non-morning people and drive them across town. I still don’t feel like I’ve caught up on my sleep after two months, and my projects have all gathered a bit of dust.

I did four rows today--the last two of a pleat section and the first two of a zig-zag section. I had to go rewatch videos of RT and LT to refresh my memory. Ugh.

11-11-2021

I have not forgotten this. I just have another project I have to finish first