02-15-2022

In a fine fit of Double Dog Dare bravado, I’m going to give a lace shawl a try with about 7 weeks to go until my sister’s wedding. Not sure if it’s for me or the bride or my mother (who hasn’t finalized her dress choice). Maybe I’ll have to give up, but I think I can do this.

02-16-2022

I wound one skein into a cake today and did a test of stockinette. The 4.5mm needle version was too big for my taste. Stretched at all, it would no longer look like Stockinette. The 4mm was a bit better. I’ll probably go with that for the stockinette, use a larger needle for garter tab/cast on, a larger needle for the lace sections, and a smaller one for the picot at the end. Or maybe a crochet hook.

My main struggle today is to figure out if Rainey’s Sweet Dreams Cast On is still usable on the pattern (currently version 8). Its stitch count is unrelated to anything else, and it doesn’t specify if it’s to replace JUST the garter tab or the Set Up rows, as well, and the WS/RS doesn’t align that way either.

Later: I gave up on the alternate cast-on. I’m just doing it as per the pattern and hoping for the best. (After finishing shawl: Wound up with a hump, but it blocked out.) I had to frog a few times, but I finished the garter tab and Set Up today before the sun set. On to stockinette tomorrow!

Later still: Got antsy and went back to knitting. Got six rows of stockinette done (for a total of 49 stitches on the needle) before my family and cats showed up to make things difficult.

02-17-2022

I’m up to something like 71 stitches. Dropped a stitch two rows ago on one of the colums of MRs. Couldn’t find it (only a quarter inch below it to the edge, really) and improvised something to fill the hole (pulled up a likely strand). I’m hoping it won’t be too visible.

119 stitches at sundown. I want to reach 157 tonight, but we’ll see. Have to take a break.

Made it to 143 stitches per row. Five more rows tomorrow should do it.

02-18-2022

I finished the Stockinette section, although not without dropping a stitch once or twice, always at the start of a row where I did the wrong thing with a ML, MR, MLP, MRP, or what have you and fumbled it while tinking. I don’t think I ever fixed anything properly because it’s tiny and a mess down there, but nothing pops out at me as glaringly, visably terrible. The last row was the worst because I ran a lifeline through the row before it, and the verdammt floss was all too eager to leap up and put itself between my needle and every single stitch. It took me twice as long as usual to do that row.

Waiting until I’m better fed and rested this afternoon to dive into the lace.

Later: Finished Chart B (Lace Setup). My first time ever adding beads! I’m using a Verna-X beader. Fun, except for the handful of Miyuki beads with holes too small. Hmm.

Later still: Finished Row 3 of Chart C

02-20-2022

I’ve reached Row 11 of Chart C. Would have been farther along, but we visited family yesterday, and I also had trouble with Row 5 of Chart C. It turned out (I think) that I’d dropped a stitch somewhere in the first 7 stitches and not noticed, so I only had 6. But I was confused for a long time, because in the pattern’s topic in the forums, there’s a lot of talk of Row 5 in Chart D, but then it turns out that in some incarnation of the pattern, Chart C WAS Chart D or vice versa, and either way, they’re talking about KFBs that don’t exist in Chart C of this pattern at all. I’m on V8 of the pattern, but I saw no mention of how this version differs. I stared and read and took pictures and studied them and read and read and got a headache, then I finally decided to fudge something. I put a ML in there to get up to 7 stitches again, and I went on. (Because all the rest of the markers had 12 stitches between them as proper.) Looks okay to me for now. Guess I’ll see.

I’d love to see some version release notes at some point, mentioning things like chart names changing, etc.--at least within the forum that was created for knitters to find help.

Later: My naughty cat strikes again. I couldn’t find my beader when I went back to knitting after a break. Eventually, I found the beads and both rubber stoppers laying on the carpet nearby, the wire nowhere in sight. I worry where I’ll find it.

02-21-2022

On Row 17, Chart C.

Switched to a 4.5mm needle on Row 13, since I forgot to do so after the stockinette section. I’ll probably move up to a 5mm on the second repeat of Chart C, or maybe on Chart D.

I’ve found that I prefer using a crochet hook to bead. I have a cheapo knockoff set of hooks my husband bought me on AliExpress a while back, and the .75mm hook does great getting the beads on this yarn. Less snagging/shredding, and it is not as flimsy so doesn’t bend when I encounter a difficult bead. (Still haven’t found the wire for my Verna-X.)

02-22-2022

On Row 21, Chart C. I alternated a Silver-Lined Dark Topaz AB with the usual Silver-Lined Lime Green. They look redder in the jar, but the brown is still good with the green. Wish I could see the iridescence a bit more on the yarn, though.

Later: Finished first pass through Chart C. On to a second repeat tomorrow. This is still barely large enough to curl around my shoulders and reach my armpits.

02-23-2022

Row 5, Chart C

02-24-2022

Row 10, Chart C. As the rows get wider, it takes longer and longer to knit them--no surprise, but I still have to keep reminding myself it’s not my fault that I don’t seem to be making as much progress. I’m still doing >1000 stitches a day.

02-25-2022

Row 13, Chart C. 264 stitches per row, plus whatever the current edge stitch count is. Just switched to a 5mm needle and am planning bead placement, colorwise. Still waiting for some beads to arrive from France (Etsy); they shipped ages ago with no tracking number but weren’t delivered as of this morning.

Later: Row 15, Chart C, so ~270 plus edges.

02-26-2022

I’m on Row 18 of the second pass through Chart C

02-27-2022

Finished my second repeat of Chart C. On to Chart D and its treacherous shifting markers.

02-28-2022

Row 4, Chart D. Stopped before Row 5 because I keep reading how knitters had trouble with it and I want to approach it with lots of daylight and a full night’s rest.

Still waiting for the beads from France. Don’t know what I was thinking. At least I have enough beads of reasonable color that I can use in case they don’t show up tomorrow or the next day.

03-01-2022

I did Row 5, Chart D this morning, and I think it went okay. I left the old markers in and just added a new one (in a different color) between the two stitches of the KFB. At the end, I counted to make sure there were 13 stitches in each repeat--there were, except for one YO I forgot but added later--and then I removed the old markers before beginning Row 6.

Finished the day with Row 8, Chart D. (Had to shuffle the markers a bit where some had ducked beneath a neighboring YO while on Row 7.)

03-02-2022

Huh. Guess I only knit one row today (Row 9, Chart D), but I was busy with the project overall. Counting stitches, moving markers, removing old markers, untangling the remainder of my yarn after it fell out of the jar and rolling it into a ball. Maybe something else.

03-03-2022

I increased my needle size to 5.5mm and knit Row 10-11 of Chart D today, going excruciatingly slowly to avoid mistakes. I counted during the purl row to make sure there were 14 stitches between markers, since you can’t tell just by how things fit or don’t at the end with a purl row. Good thing I did because I’d left out a YO at some point in the row below and had to add it in. It was also painfully slow because of how stitches overlap on the left needle (because of YOs and slanted stitches?). I had to keep stopping to pry things apart.

It would have been nice to have some earlier notice that the count was changing to 14 at the start of Row 10. I just saw it mentioned at the end of 11, which I completely missed before. I panicked when I first saw 14 stitches emerging and had to study the chart to make sure I was okay.

Later: Finished Row 12, Chart D (again prying stitches loose from the octopus grip of neighboring YOs) and placed a new lifeline. I almost have enough energy to dive into Row 13 tonight, but I think I’ll wait. I have 380+ stitches on the needle, and that last row took me most of an hour. Also, I’d like to wait until daylight.

Will I begin the cast off tomorrow? I’m nervous but excited about it--my first experience with picots.

03-04-2022

I finished Chart D! I went even more painstakingly slowly today and found a few repeats that were missing a stitch between the K2Tog/YOs and the two final beads. Unsure of how I messed up, precisely, I did a MR and used it as one of the stitches in the K2Tog. We’ll see how awkward that does or does not look tomorrow or the next day when I block it. (Later edit: Ha! Try two weeks.)

Still the hurdle of the picot bindoff to attempt. I’m equal parts frightened and excited.

I altered Chart D in one way. While browsing others’ projects, I saw one where the knitter placed a bead at the tip of the “leaf” which to me looked like it was on the s2kpsso, so that’s what I did. Looks good so far.

For beads, I used a silver-lined lime green AB for the leaf tip, and for the cluster of 5 in what will become the points, I used 4 Chartreuse and Topaz triangles and one Dark Topaz (silver-lined, AB) in the middle of the bottom row of three. I think it will stretch down below them when I block it, and that will add a dot of red(dish) at the tip.

Oh, and I am not as big a fan of placing beads after making a stitch as I am the other way around. It was super awkward trying to hold the crochet hook in my left hand (despite being a lefty). What I wound up doing was knitting the stitch, putting it back onto the left needle, and then slipping the bead on with the hook in my right hand, like before, then I had to put it back on the right needle in the right direction. If I had a project with mostly post-stich beads, I might put in the initial work of stringing a zillion beads on the yarn itself before starting the project.

03-06-2022

Took the day off yesterday, not feeling well. Just watched a lot of videos on picot bind offs. Decided to use a crochet hook and felt confident about it all. When I tried to do so this morning, however, I couldn’t seem to figure out how to make it work. I went back to a 4mm knitting needle (which requires a different cable with this Chiaogoo set) and have been fumbling my way along suuuuper slowly. I am only about 4 markers in from the edge and have to keep taking breaks when I start making lots of mistakes. Hope it gets easier tomorrow. Hope I’m not doing this all week.

I’m using juneatsea’s project notes as a guide for CO and BO counts. I was going to add a bead at the tip of some picots, but I’m having such trouble in general that I think I’ll skip it this time.

03-07-2022

I’m getting faster, but my pace is still glacial. I’m only about a foot across this thing.

Finally ran out of yarn on my first skein. Glad I had a second.

03-11-2022

I. Am. So. Slow.

Just passed the halfway mark on the cast off. I can’t do more than a dozen or so before I’m all scrunched up and getting a headache. It’s the weekend now, though. Maybe I’ll speed up with longer stretches of free time.

03-15-2022

!!! I did it !!! I finally reached the end of the picots! I have one repair to do where I dropped a stitch and the life line caught it, then it’s off to the bath and the mats.

03-17-2022

Finished!

I did the blocking today, and it took me several hours because I chose to pin out each picot. Goodness! And once you get started, you can’t really stop because the pinned picots are stretched out and won’t go entirely back to their original state (which was plenty cute itself--I might stick with that if I do another). But it all looks great. The worst/funniest thing was that my big box of pins ran out super early, and I had to scramble to find anything--winding up with two boxes of thumb tacks that also ran out before I was finished. It took me so long, however, that I was able to go back to the start and begin robbing it of t-pins to use at the end because it was already dry.