The Path of Lace

I finished the Haute Beret, and I’m not real sure about it. I’m going to let it rest a bit. The density of the yarn made it a bit more substantial and mushroom-like than I was going for. Maybe it’ll grow on me.

I decided when there was no yarn package on Saturday that I’d better cast on the Secret of the Stole with the Alpaca Cloud and have done with it. So I did. Good thing I swatched with the same yarn!

Lace knitting is pretty advanced. I liken it to the point in a given field of study when the scholar must choose her specialization. Some choose socks (too hypnotic), some choose colorwork (meh.), some choose sweaters, and some choose lace. Lace shawls appeal to me. Why? Well I’m glad you asked.

• I’m cold all the time, and even in the summer when I’ve got a good heat tolerance going, I do have to go into offices and shops where people without heat tolerances live.
• I love dramatic, tasteful clothing. A beautiful lace shawl is just that. Who wouldn’t love to button up a marvelous and witty point of conversation by subtly throwing a point of gorgeous shawl over one’s shoulder? Who can argue with that?
• I dislike knitting in tiny circles. That became painfully clear while knitting B’s cigar gloves. I also dislike seaming. A lace shawl is full of win on both of these points.
• I want to learn to knit pretty lace, rather than live in stockinette hell. New skills are good for the brain!

The glass is half full. I must remember that. Because last night, after chugging along with the chart and getting everything perfect, reading my knitting, feeling free and new and wonderful, I made a mistake. And when I tried to back up to fix it, I think I may have made another mistake in my tinking. And I may have dropped a stitch when my dear little 50 lb doggie landed on me from 4 feet away.

After trying unsuccessfully 8 times to unknit and reknit that part, I saw my knitting life flash before my eyes. Learning to make balanced increases, a breeze. My first cable, a success. Seaming a baby sweater, unpleasant, but pretty easy.

And this stupid little section of tangled string was utterly stumping me.

Ugh. I threw a bit of a laid-back hissy fit, lamenting my lack of lace knitting friends, I doubted that even my glorious mother could help me with it over the phone. She is clever and has chosen the Path of Socks, which allows for the occasional modest dabbling into the lace pool.

Poor B tried to help me out, and we managed to sort out that I had a few options:

1. Keep on truckin’ and live with the mistake (but but but, PERFECTION! and not sure where I lost the stitch)
2. Tink back to the last purl return row (but I had already messed tinking up)
3. Try to fix it from the current row (but that’s what I’d been doing)

I chose none of the above, put the lace down, step AWAY from the LACE, ma’am. And when I picked it up again this morning, yesss the siren call of the laaaaccce, I knew what I must do. I did the best I could with counting and comparing to the chart, getting the stitch back where I thought it should go, then just sallied forth! I did have to do some additional repairs after the next return row, but I think it’s OK now. You can see where I screwed up, but I think it’ll be only visible to me, and it’ll be a good reminder to never let perfectionism ruin your fun.

Next time on Looptangle, a photo of the amusing way I cast on the SotSii of Doom!