Talking about obsessive ...

After getting the good, good news that my mum only drops in for like 30 min. today, I yesterday had the whole vening for just loading the dishwasher, concerning housewifey things - which I did today in the morning. The cats were also kind of crazy, running around in the bookshelves (near the top of course), not needing to lie on my knitting, the best place a cat can be - so I sat down at around 7 p.m., did the last repeats on the melon shawl, and started the edging.

I was really kind of scared of that edging. The shawl is my 4th lace project, after Scheherazade (Mystery Stole 2), birch bottom-up, and Icarus. I did edgings before with the MS2, but that was with life stitches from the last row still active, no borders etc.. Yet after reading the instructions for like 5 times and not comprehending much, I decided to do that what a friend of mine always told me when I messed upo the choreography in aerobics classes - don't think, just do it (with a hint at a major stortswear manufacturer, to be true). It worked then, and it also worked with the edging.

I've already about 20 edge repeats, and the pattern I already memorized pretty well, although I tend to forget the 3 BOs in the third WS row (row 6). And now I also understand what I have to do once I get the the turning points at the corners. Pretty simple, now that I have deciphered that mystery.

Really, the longer I knit lace, the easier it seems to get - and I don't think it's practice. I guess it's just loosing the fear and knowing that after blocking catyack - as the lovely Misses Lime & Violet put it - blooms up into the most wonderful pieces of lacework that just look like I never could have possibly knit them. The only thing about lace is that depending on the pattern you just have to keep alert while knitting, and have to know your place. With the shawl here it's easy - the pattern repeats are small both in size and row numbers, and after like 3 repeats in every direction it's easy to just read the lace and know just where you are and what you have to do next. The edging is pretty much the same, just small enough that it goes waaay faster ;)
With MS2, where there were no pattern repeats, I just worked in 10 stitch squares with lines drawn on the chart and stitch markers within the work that I slipped every row. The worst I ever got lost was about 9 stitches either right or left - easy enough to recount and move on. And until now I have not yet found a pattern where that method would not work. I might need more stitch markers, but with enough time every lace piece should be conquerable!

Talking of said lace pieces, I guess the way it goes the malon shawl will be done beofre the end of the weekend, probably already in the wee hours of Saturday morning should I choose to stay up tomorrow. I tend to do such things when I'm hooked on something. And I have about 12 DVDs I'd like to rewatch, so ... well. We'll see.

Thinking about what to do next, I'm a bit in a conflict there. I'd really like to start the Hidcot Garden shawl, as the KAL is already up and running, and the first pics I saw online made me drool a bit. On the other hand, I wanted to knit the Forest Path Stole for months, I'm signed up for that KAL, too, and although they officially start on February 1st, I'm not really in the mood to wait very long. BUT I would need good dpns for that, and the bamboo ones I work the edging now, well, for KSH they are good as the yarn tends to slip a bit and on the edging I wouldn't want to pick up fallen stitches - but for a whole stole that would likely make me crazy, that unslippage. I have a good source for wooden needles, I guess I might even order today. The last time they arrived pretty fast ...

So I guess in the end I will end of with the Hidcot Garden Shawl - for that I do have everything I need, I just have to decide on a yarn. I guess I will be using my Jaggerspun Zephyr, same as I plan for the Forest Path Stole, too - I just have to decide on the colour. I guess blue for Hidcot and green for the Forest - it's just soooo hard if you have the choice!

Now that was irony.

Speaking of my bamboo dpns, I tried to make them slicker yesterday, using furniture polish, but that did not really work out. I read online that peaple used wax, but I don't know where to get any (I guess rubbing on candles won't work either). I even tried skiing wax - don't ask. But at least the needles did not change for the worse, either. So should anyone havce a good suggestion - please drop me a line.

Well, and still no sock knitting yesterday. I just didn't want to cast on for the Kews. Maybe I should just take another yarn and save the STR for later. And I soo want to start the Provincial waistcoat. Maybe I should order needles for that, too. My bamboo circs are not all that good - the others are just so much smoother. We'll see.

So I guess that's it for now. Seeing that so many people have those "100 things about me" lists, I might do one too, and backdate it so it is not too obvious. But should I do that, I will post a link, both in text and sidebar.