Sunday, April 15, 2007

Stymied

Once again, knitting mirrors my life: I've been stymied in both. This left me with a mood all last week. By Friday I felt like a sulky 15-year old. All that was missing was the black lipstick and nail polish. But I've had a nice weekend that has left me in a much better mood.

It's funny, how I don't feel entitled to my bad mood. I know that I'm very fortunate in my circumstances. I have a lovely family, a house, a job and a closet full of wool. There's got to be some compromise between feeling our feelings, and still recognizing that things could be worse. Anyway, I'm working on learning what it is.

So, enough of life, I came here to write about my knitting. Unfortunately, write is about all I can do, since I don't have much of anything to show. The Clessidra Stockings are progressing; I've started the ankle shaping of the second sock. That means I still have one sock's worth of knitting to do.

The Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl stalled out because of needle issues. The largest 4mm needle I have is 80cm or 32 inches. I haven't finished the first repeat of chart 2 and this needle is already full. I tried knitting on two circs at the same time, but that's terribly awkward with lace. I'm considering buying a KnitPicks circular because they go up to 60 inches. The longest Addi Turbo I can find is also 60 inches. I have a Boye NeedleMaster, but when I try joining multiple cables together, they come together at an awkward angle. I haven't tried knitting with it yet.

The real problem is the jumperweight wool. It takes too much room on the needles. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can comfortably knit this shawl? Perhaps a large jumperweight shawl in the round is just a Bad Idea. I'm very close to ripping this out. I only started it because it was such a pleasure to knit, but without the right needle, the pleasure will be gone.

So, I'm tired of knitting blue socks. I wanted some color, and I found it in a 3-year old project that I've resurrected. It's a fair isle pull over in Lopi that I put aside when the weather warmed up in the spring and then never picked back up. Since this week has been so cold, I've enjoyed having it's warmth on my lap. I keep having the phrase, "barfing rainbows" go through my head as I knit on it though:

The sock in the picture was started on Saturday night as Jim and I watched Casino Royale. It was a good movie, so I needed something simpler to knit than what was currently on the needles. I'm loving the bright colors and the stitch pattern. It's Sailor's Rib, but I've added an extra knit row.

I gotta run, dinner is almost ready. Roast rabbit, roast vegetables, beets, mashed potatoes, and I've chopped some fresh pineapple for dessert. Hmmm.... I'm counting my blessings, including the support of all my knitting pals. Thanks to all of you. Cheers!

6 comments:

  1. Oy, I hear you about the Boyle needles. It took a long time, but I did get a couple put together without a weird angle. I just had to try and try again. =/ Honestly, I'd probably buy the Addi's or Knitpicks, if I could.

    I don't know. Maybe wait a bit longer before you make a decision on the shawl? I can't imagine you having a *bad* idea =) I like the rainbow sweater and the bright socks. Feels like spring knitting!

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  2. Laurie, where did you get the rainbow sweater. You know I'm on the prowl for a fair isle project and this sweater looks great. Any info on pattern and yarn and all that good stuff? I'll join you and we might get it done in no time.

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  3. Anonymous10:01 am

    Good for you! You can't choose your feelings, but you can choose how you act on them. I try to remind myself of that daily. :-)
    I love the look of those socks! I can't wait to see them completed. As always, great work, Laurie!

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  4. At least you're working it out for yourself (the emotions), which is better than acting out.

    Mmm, dinner sounded lovely!

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  5. Anonymous7:08 pm

    I'm an Addis Turbo fan all the way! Beautiful yarn choice for the new socks. And, do you have room for one more for dinner - sounds really yummy!

    Asaknitter
    www.knittingnutter.com

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  6. in debbie new's book she talks about a source for circs up to 100 inches! i'm sure it could be found by googling, or by emailing her

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