Taking a trip...

Friday, October 21, 2005

Well, well, well. The Wave and Shell Shawl and I took a trip the other night. A trip you may know well. On the way there, we picked up my son and enlisted his help. Yes, it was a trip to the frog pond where 10 year old boys smile with glee as they get to rip out rows and rows of beautifully knit objects and knitter's cringe at the thought of reworking 3 hours of stitches.

I wanted to do some cool arrows and text-on-picture action but I didn't have time for that at home last night because I was sewing Luke Skywalker's pants*. So you'll have to peek into this photo to see my silly mistake.



If you look up the shell rows (note: they're actually upside down here in between the vertical rows of YOs) you will see two nicely spaced rows of garter stitch at the top (bottom in this picture) of each shell. Then, all of the sudden, three pattern repeats from the top there are four nicely spaced rows of garter stitch at the top of a shell... where there should only be two of course. I've worked the math and realized this must have happened at knitting group last Sunday. I must have done a few rows on the shawl before I left, then started the pattern repeat again when I got there. Damn. So we ripped.

I wouldn't have been so anal [maybe] if it had been for myself or someone else but my grandma is the queen of perfectionism. She used to make those giant crochet doilies and if she was like an inch from being done, but she noticed a mistake back at say, row 10, she would rip ALL the way back and fix it! So yes, I know she would love a gift from me even with mistakes but I'm determined to make it perfect.

And the other picture for the day is Kurt's ugly socks. Boy oh boy, when you let a kid pick out his own sock colors you gotta watch out. But he loves the colors and will treasure these socks until his feet get too big for them (and maybe even after that).



I plan to bring these and the shawl along on the work trip next week. If anything, it will keep me busy in my hotel rooms since I know now that I'll be going alone. Long story. It's okay, this just means I get to crank up the music while I drive across two states. But unforunately, no knitting while driving. Or goofy shenanigans with my supervisor.

* My sewing skills must have improved in dormancy because I finished the top and pants to Kurt's Halloween costume in record time and they both fit on the first try. Hooray! Now I just have to find a dress for me to wear. I'll make sure to post pictures of the day when all is said and done. But until then, au revoir!

*edit*
Almost forgot! Here is a pic of the darker blue colors in the second ball - just a garter stitch stripe in this pic. I'm beginning to think it will look alright since it does happen about halfway through but it sure is darker.