C'mon, I KNOW it's not just me!
Anyway. I had a fantabulous skein of Malabrigo Sock...
...that I was going to turn into an Ashton shawlette. But after a lot of build-up and excitement (saving it as a 'special reward' knit - why do I do this to myself?), it just wasn't working, the colours were almost too variegated for the pattern. So I frogged it. :o(
I decided that a nice stockinette shawlette with a pretty edging was the way to go. I've done a few of them, but didn't want to do another Holden just yet, so thought I'd improvise. How hard could it be? Pick a nice edging off one of the shawls I've knitted, work stockinette til I'd the right multiple of stitches, then knit on. Right?
Well, urm...
...maybe not! Crash. And. BURN!
Stuff I learned from this...
(a) tempting Fate by using phrases like 'winging it' and 'ethereal' is not a good move. Fate is sometimes paying attention.
(b) not enough stockinette
(c) too much edging
(d) yarn is not quite as variegated as I thought, so maybe my original pattern choice was correct.
The edging is a modified version of Ethereal, a beautifully spectacular yet simply intuitive pattern. Pretty, yes. But too much here, I think.
However, I haven't frogged it. Yet. Cuz I has options. So what do I do now?
(a) redo above. More stockinette, less edging
(b) stick with original pattern choice. Knit Ashton.
Help? Please? Seriously need help on this one, as I'm beyond the point of making a decision for myself!
In other news...
1. I'll be AWOL for the coming week and not back at a computer til next weekend, so there will be no blogging or tweeting in the interim. My Botany Lace has been very good to me, so I'm bringing it on holidays! Yay!
2. Birthday greetings to two of my favouritest peeps, T.Bunny and Whirl123. Sorry I'm missing the shenanigans, but, y'know, holidays and crap. :o(
3. For those who are curious, no, neither myself nor Rubysasha are actually insane, we're just highly imaginative creative types! Following a clip on the Ellen show, we got to wondering how a nice alpaca hat could be made so sparkly, and decided it had to be because the alpaca had been cross-bred with a unicorn. Hence 'unipaca'. 'Alpacorn' sounds like something you eat, and while 'unipaca' evokes thoughts of 'unabomber' in this particular knitter's brain, it's probably because I spend far too long in front of the Crime & Investigation channel while knitting!
Anyway... this fibre has all kinds of amazing powers (waterproof, adapts to size, autocorrects lace knitting errors). Neither of us can spin, but to be honest, we have other hurdles to cross first. Though we have, at least, secured my brother's services as a unipaca herder. Baby steps, people, baby steps. Magical fibre someday. Maybe. Here's hoping!
So on that magical note, I shall bid you all adieu for the moment. Hopefully by the time I next talk to you, I'll have another Botany Lace FO. And maybe a touch of a suntan (though probably not. I'm a Factor 50 girl, all the way. I'll definitely have more freckles, though!).
Toodles!
Whoopeee I'm famous :)
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I do hope your brother know we simply cannot pay him, he shall have to do the work out of the goodness of his little heart, is this likely?
I happen to like your shawl, maybe the edging to solid ratio is not how you'd like it, but it's a lovely concept. Wear it for a little while and see how it works on?
Keep an eye out for unipaca's on your hols, you might catch one unawares, he should fit in your suitcase on the way home (remember they are weightless and have no mass) have a good time :)