Wall-Eyed Knit Fit

It was a big weekend for knitting. Ironic, given how unseasonably gorgeous it was outside. We were housebound for most of Saturday waiting for a repairperson. DH got to watch some sports, and we watched a couple of movies while I quietly knitted away on my two most neglected UFOs, the Floral Gathering Sac and the Very Harlot Poncho. I made great time on the poncho - stockinette in the round with four increases every other row is pretty awesome, I have to say. The Gathering Sac, I worked until the intarsia got more complicated/tangly and then put it down to pay more complete attention to The Sure Thing.

DH was out most of Sunday playing golf, so I turned to the shawl. I'd finished picking up stitches during the week and was finally ready to knit on the border. I got up bright and early, walked the dog, made a pot of tea and settled in. I had neglected to swatch the border I planned to use (I know, bad bad), so when I sat down to do it yesterday morning, I wasn't prepared for the utter frustration that resulted in the scattering of my toolbox contents (owing to my sweeping it off the coffee table) and the consuming feeling of black hatred that I momentarily felt for the shawl. I actually couldn't wait to finish the !~$#%&*+=?!!!@ thing so I could get my revenge by blocking the living daylights out of it.

The chart was weird. I read it the way you're supposed to read lace charts, and it didn't look right; I figured (rightfully no doubt) that this was user error, so I payed really close attention and still messed it up. I read the chart the wrong way next time, and, unsurprisingly, the swatch still looked screwy. This was complicated by another issue. I was looking at the "wrong" side of the shawl; the chart I had only worked if I was starting on the "right" side. After going through a couple of other possibilities, I decided on the mega-easy but surprisingly cute "Little Bit O' Lace" from 101 Knitting on the Go Projects, which I can't remember buying, but for which I am now deeply grateful.

It had a set up row, and then a repeat of two rows, which put me in a good position if I still wanted to start on the wrong side. After a successful swatch, I got to knitting. The little rows seem to whizz by, but progress overall is slow. I am about 2/3 of the way down the first side, and I worked on it pretty steadily. Still, I am happy with how it is going.

And we won't tell anyone about my little temper tantrum. ;)