Fiber Arts Friday: Traveling Woman Shawl

I started the Traveling Woman Shawl as part of a Twitter Knit Along way back in January 2010.  I knew it was above my skill level at the time but the Twitterinos were very helpful.  I was able to make a lot of progress but alas, my lack of skill caught up with me and I shelved this project back in March 2010.

I finally picked it back up at the end of June right before the Tour de Fleece started, aka 15 months later.

I enjoyed knitting Chart A and was happy.  The pattern was making sense to me and going well.

Now that I'm on Chart B, I am unhappy.  I have 5 rows to go and my yarn supply is dwindling.  I'm not certain I have enough to finish the pattern, but frankly I've decided that I don't care.

I don't like Chart B.  I don't know if it's the formatting, my splitty yarn, the lace or the fact that I can't talk and knit without making a mistake or getting lost, but I am not enjoying it.  I don't feel like I'm reading the stitches right, but when I hold the work up, it looks ok.  So who knows?  Maybe it's fine.

This pattern has become much more about finishing than anything else.  Which makes knitting not fun.  Of course it's also been hot and humid and I'm knitting with alpaca... it IS summer by the way.  :-/

So, I'm gonna enjoy the cool morning with a cup of coffee, then check in with the fabulous Fiberistas over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder because you know, it IS Fiber Arts Friday.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday - Frog it or Shelve it?

I have grown so frustrated with my Twitter Knit Along Shawl that I nearly frogged it on Saturday.

I had ripped it out to the life line two more times after my last post. 

I was only a few rows into the latest attempt at the lace and feeling cautiously good about it.  Then I knit two of the same rows in a row.  Well, I actually only knit about 25% of the second row, but insert profanity here!  I just about ripped out the entire thing.

I learned a long time ago, sunk costs are sunk.  They should not be weighted too heavily when deciding how or whether to move forward.  Fortunately, I've also learned not to make these sort of decisions when my blood pressure is elevated.  So I ripped it out to the life line and packed the shawl into it's project bag and prepared to work on something else.

I know.  I said I was going to finish it and wear it with pride.  I still may, but for now it's going on a shelf.

Please enjoy more fiber stories at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

Fiber Arts Friday - Aaarrrrgggghh

I realized this week that I have made a big mistake on my Twitter Knit Along Shawl.  Actually I've made a lot of mistakes on this shawl, but I just realized I have made a big mistake.... over and over again.

Last week I mentioned that I was not happy with how the shawl was turning out.  Mostly this was because the edge didn't seem right, but the lace pattern didn't seem right either.  I assumed it would be resolved with blocking.  I don't actually know since this is my first time with lace and I've never blocked anything before.  So that will be a new adventure.

Anyway while I was contemplating the shawl this week, I picked up the pattern and saw these instructions:

The lace charts should be worked as follows:
RS: k2, yo [work chart to last m], yo, k2.
WS: k2, yo [work chart to last m], yo, k2.

Prior to starting the lace section, the instructions say to remove the center markers.  Unfortunately I read it as remove all of the markers and then missed the instructions above.  Which means I did nearly two repeats of lace chart A end-to-end.  No yarn over and no knit two.  Argh!

The silver lining?  A few knit-along-ers had metioned adding a life line before they started the lace charts.  Fortunately, I listened and added my own life line of dental floss.  As a result, it was very easy to rip out and put the shawl back on the needles.

So now I am ready to start lace chart A one more time.  Isn't learning fun.  ;-)

Enjoy more (hopefully successful) fibery posts over at the Wisdom Begins in Wonder Blog today.

Fiber Arts Friday - #TwitKAL

I've been working on the Twitter Knit Along for some time now and still have a ways to go.

We officially started on January 27th (yes this year, I haven't been working on it that long). I actually started one day early since I was confused by the pattern and was given advice on how to get started.

I ended up starting this shawl 5 times and finally changed to a less slippery yarn which helped alot.

We were supposed to finish on 2/17.  However, with all of the new to me stitches and the fact that this is a shawl and not a hat, I thought four weeks was agressive.  I figured it would be a good challenge and with so many other people working on the same pattern, there would be some resources available when I got stuck.

I think most people finished on time, but a few of us decided the new deadline was April 30th.  Since that is still almost 2 months away, I think I might make it.

I have really enjoyed seeing other people's progress and feel like my knitting skills have grown. 

I'm not thrilled with how my shawl is turning out but will finish it and wear it with pride.  Mostly though, I am happy to have added a few stitches to my knitting repertoire and really enjoyed the virtual knitting circle of the #TwitKAL.

See more fibery goodness over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder today.