Sunday, July 21, 2013

Yarn + Pattern = Not-So-Much

Stubbornness will get you every time. I know this. I know this. And yet I was determined. I saw the Bavarian Socks pattern and thought, "Oooh, that would be stunning in that Fresh colorway I picked up at Yarnover!"

Once I had the vision, that was it. It didn't matter that the yarn was a tangled mess when I put it on the swift. Or that I ended up having to undo the cake I'd started and wind the entire thing by hand — a less-than-pleasant experience since the yarn, as lovely and saturated green as it was, didn't have a lot of spring. Or that the whole winding experience pushed me from A-OK on time to running late while packing to leave. Remember, I was stubborn determined.

snoopin 2

Fast forward 24 hours to Day 1 at the cabin. In my haste to begin that morning, I misread row one of the chart and didn't realize my error until after I'd repeated it the 10 times for the ribbing. Trip 1 to the frog pond and a second cup of coffee. All was fine until the first set of long cables made me feel like I was wrestling an alligator. I dropped a stitch. I jiggered the cable together again. The first pattern repeat is always the hardest, right?

first attempt

That night after a blissful day of lakeside lounging and grilling, I picked up the socks again...and found myself struggling just as badly. WTF? I'm a loose knitter on even the most stressful days. And I was relaxed.

I put the needles down in disgust and went to bed with a headache. As I lay there, I heard it emerge from the throbbing: This. Yarn. Does not want to be. This. Pattern.

Hmmm. Yarn with little give and complex cabling on size 1-1/2 needles? Yeah, not so much. My hands and sanity would not survive.

At least I had the common sense to pack more projects than I could complete. And I'm happy to report that this pile-o-knits all behaved themselves quite nicely.

pile-o-knits

2 comments:

  1. sometimes you shake your fist, sometimes you walk 35 extra feet...

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  2. They all look lovely! Can't wait to see the FOs.

    ReplyDelete