This is how you know your hobby might have become an obsession.....

[treeskin]

I ripped out the maple leaf shawl this afternoon. The whole thing, 30" across (I had measured it this morning), all 60-some hours of work.

It just wasn't right. I'd found an error, too few stitches in one place, that I just couldn't fix, even by ripping out 10 rows down and reworking that chunk. Tried five times--for most of three hours.

And, as I was glaring at in in frustration at the ripped-out spot, I realized I wasn't happy with the drape or the gauge. The pattern doesn't specify needle size or gauge to aim for, just says use what's appropriate for lace work in whatever yarn you're using (which is "several sizes larger than what you'd normally use with that yarn"--not helpful to the inexperienced lace knitter). The wool yarn I'm using didn't have a label; it's one of the cone yarns I got from Myrna. It's on the fine side of fingering weight, or the heavy side of lace weight, and I'd been working the shawl on a circular #4. Nice stitch definition, but not very open.

Maple leaf shawl 2.0 is the three-quarter version, rather than the full square, which is supposed to sit better on the shoulders, and is knitted in garter st, rather than in the round, and alternating between knit and purl rnds (much slower). And it's on a #6 circular. I've got about 30 rows done so far, and it's much softer, much drapier, and lacier. And faster.

Did I mention this way was faster? We like fast knitting, we do.

Comments

[tnrkitect.livejournal.com]

lol... and all this whilst talking to me. I'm impressed!

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

Why do you think I make so many typos on IM? It's hard to type while holding knitting needles.

[c3fyn.livejournal.com]

What's this "might" business? :):):):)

Plus, is it a good sign that we're using what can (charitably) consider the royal "we", or (uncharitably) the Gollum "we"?

:):):):):);)

Nothing like having to destroy multiple work-weeks' worth of work on a creative project. Those are the days I just have this urge to set a very, very large fire.

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

Mrph. See if you get brownies next time you come to eat at my house.

"we" is always a good sign--it means all the voices in my head agree on something. We get more done that way, you know.


And a fire would be bad--burning wool stinks. It was depressing, though, just how quickly it ripped out.....something that took that long to make should take longer to destroy, dammit.

[c3fyn.livejournal.com]

Wauuuuuugh! No, no, I'm very sorry, ma'am, yes I am.

Ppppppppplease don't take my brownie ration away! I'll be good, I promise.

Yeah, you know, the "easily destroyed" bit I can sympathize with. All it takes is for some kid at a Con to walk up to the table with a cup full of something and "whoops!--uh-oh, gosh, can you fix that?"

"Uh, no, generally paper and ink doesn't respond well to saturation by a sugary, brown-dyed liquid."

Makes one consider taking up sculpting.

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

That's better. Maybe you'll get brownies after all. Or maybe I"ll save them, for after I've seen just how good you can be.

I had a housemate spill a can of Coke on soem cross-stitch I was working on once....I didn't find it until it was already dried and stained for good. Tried fixing it, years later, but every time I pull it out I see the stain. I think I ought to just throw it away.

Thoguth about sculpture a few times, haven't found a form that excites me tactilely the way yarn does. So it goes.

[c3fyn.livejournal.com]

I can be very very very good. Especially for brownies. Very good. I'll even take out the trash.

My main problem with sculpture (other than it's a lot of work), is, well, it's a lot of work. I don't mind drawing, because it's much more instantly gratifying. Sad, isn't it? I can whip out a drawing or even a comics page in something like a day or two. And if I don't like what's happening...erase! Can't really do that with sculpture.

"hm hm hm hm...I'll just chisel off this wee bit here...(tink)... ... ... ... ... !@#$% @#$! #@$! !@#$ #@$!!"