Snow Knitting

Saturday afternoon, it started to snow here. I recently purchased the Prayer Shawl book. It has several shawl patterns. I found a pattern for a triangular shawl. I decided to try it. So I tried it on some yarn I had. I liked it. Alot. So I grabbed a skein of Lion Brand Homespun & cast on. I knit all that day and night.

Sunday I woke up and it was still snowing. I knit all that day (except for the hour or less that I spent out in the snow with the Queen Princess). I finished one skein and moved onto the next (the pattern calls for 3 skeins). I was up to over 100 stitches on the needles (you cast on 1 and then increase, after the 7th row, you increase 1 stitch every row). See how long it is? There are so many sittches now, that I can't straighten it out on the needles. I have to show one flat section at a time. See the edges? Isn't that so cool (for those of you who are experienced knitters, humor me!)?

Monday I woke up and my hands and wrists and forearms hurt. I didn't knit Monday...or Tuesday. Today I worked on my sock while waiting for my daughter's 1st grade assembly to start. I have not worked on that shawl since Sunday.

Learn from my mishap, people! Do NOT (no matter how fun and how quick a knit it is for you!) knit for 2 days without breaks! Pace yourself! Take breaks. Often! Or you may end up like me...unable to knit for 2 days!

In case you're wondering, no, I'm NOT in the Knitting Olympics. It's just that the shawl was such a quick knit for me. I really like the pattern. It has a yarn over each row, and makes these cute little holes up along both sides. It's all KNIT STITCH. I can do that FAST! The other pattern I'd been doing (k3,p3 and then knit into the purls and purl into the knits) was BORING to me. I don't love that pattern. But I do love this triangular pattern! Sadly, it doesn't love me (when I knit it for 2 days!).

Here are some pictures of the socks (ok - I like to say "socks" but it's really only ONE SOCK - although I may learn that knit 2 socks at the same time method) I'm working on. **Before you laugh at my sock, please remember it's my FIRST sock...and that I've been injured by the Killer Shawl.** I'm not happy with it. Here's the thing. The pattern calls for 8 inches of k1,p1 ribbing. I don't like doing that. And eight inches of it?!?!? No way! So I decided some of the sock leg (is that what it's called??) can be stockinette (in the round, that means ALL KNIT stitch!). So I look at my sock and there's a dimple kind of thing going on. It looks like it's where a knee had been. And the stockinette looks wider than the ribbing. But I keep knitting. I frogged this damn sock too many times in the beginning - I am NOT doing it again! Then the stockinette stitches get tighter. Nice, even, beautiful stitches. But not as wide as before. I'm getting close to that 8", so I switch back to the ribbing. Guess what? Now that's tighter, too! Beautiful, even ribbing stitches. But not AS WIDE as the top. And, to top it all off (haha! jokes! i still have jokes!), the cast on row feels too tight - not enough stretch. I cast on slingshot method. Is there a better method to use for socks?? Never fear, I will make that cast on row fit...but for the next pair (and maybe even the mate to this sock), I'm sure there's a better way.

Ok. The sock pictures: top left, The Yarn. Underneath that, the rows I finished (this was my 4th or 5th attempt at this sock). The pictures on the right show the sock as it looks today.

And I will leave you with a picture of the Queen Princess. This was taken today, at the "reception" following the 1st grade assembly. She's showing me the gap where her tooth used to be (it fell out the end of January, I think). The two 1st grade classes did skits, a Noah's Ark thing (the Queen Princess was one of the children who held up the Ark), read (1st graders! Reading in front of an audience! Amazing!), and recited some of the Bible verses they've learned so far, this year (in case you can't tell, she goes to a Christian school). They did a wonderful job...and really enjoyed the "reception" afterwards.

Tonight, Nutty Knitters! I'll get to "show off" the Killer Shawl. My Mom & I are the first ones to try a different shawl pattern (we're such trendsetters!). I should be able to knit tonight. Yay!

MAKE it a great day!