Just In Case You Wondered

Yes, I have been a bit quiet about the Shetland lace shawl for the last few days, and there is a very good reason for that.  I have started it, and had to unpick it again, seven times so far.  The best that I have managed so far is to cast on the required stitches, complete the four rows of garter stitch and then complete 14 rows of the 20-row repeat that forms the 'rosebud' pattern at the centre of the shawl.  My best attempt came to grief about half way through row 15 of the pattern when I made a mistake and then while attempting to correct it managed to drop some stitches that were impossible to pick up again.

It's not that I am a bad knitter; I rarely, if ever, drop stitches normally.  The problem that I am having here is caused by the fineness of the wool that I am using.  I know that they say that a bad workman blames his tools, but in this case it really is the yarn at fault.  I am starting to get used to it now, and I am working on my eighth attempt at the moment.  I have just completed row 14 of the 'rosebud' pattern and will shortly be entering new territory. I am determined that this time I will not make a mistake and I will be a little more careful if I have to unpick anything to try to ensure that I don't drop stitches.

The fact that I had so many problems with the shawl meant that my other knitting, instead of being a stand-by, became the main thing that I was working on.  The result of this is that I now have a new jumper and a cardigan, both in the same yarn.  The cardigan is the garment that I got for free because the yarn was so economical.

So, I will sit down with the pattern, I shall take up the knitting, and I will start row 15 in the hopes that this will be the last time that I have to start on the shawl and that I can get to work on it every evening so that it grows at a good rate.  If I'm having this much trouble with the centre of the shawl, I hate to think what will happen when I get to the lacy borders.  It might just turn out to be my biggest nightmare ever.  We'll have to wait and see what happens.