out with the old

That's it......I can't stand it any more. It's time to cast off and chalk it up to experience. My pretty, pretty lacy friend. Untouched for the last month, it needs some closure.

Can you see it....the way I've managed to shift everything over a bit on the row ? Those gaping lacy holes in such an obviously wrong place. I counted the stitches - all present. I checked the row below - all yarn overs in the correct place. This was easy...I.was.not.going.to get.this.row.wrong. NO way..not this time..I'd even placed stitch markers so the counting would be less of a pain.
Start knitting confidently, check progress along the way (like every 10 stitches), get to the end but I 've still managed to balls it up. AAAGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
It's not like it's a difficult pattern. The repeats are simple for petes sake. What is it about this bit of knitting that my brain can't process? I do not like to let things beat me. Serious frustration set in as I managed to make some sort of mistake at least every other row. I would undo it, find the mistake, knit it again even more slowly and so on and so on.
Maybe the wool is jinxed...who knows who left it in that charity shop....maybe they cast some sort of weird knitting curse on it and it's future owner, I don't know. Maybe I just can't count.
It's a shame - it's pretty, its fluffy, it could have been sooooo good.

Anyway moving on...Now this is more up my alley

Its the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.
I was inspired to make this after seeing Afternoonmoons beautiful finished article on Ravelry.
I fell in love with the colours she used and went off to see if I had anything similar in my stash. Err, no. Ok scrap that idea then. I don't have a big posh stash of wool, I so wish I did - but the truth is I'm not a good enough knitter to warrant the expense. 'Cause nice wool is expensive, which is completely justifiable if you are going to end up with something you can actally wear, but not so much if it's likely to turn into some freak item a la me. I tend to make do with what I've got (mostly thrifted nice wool) and on the odd occasion I will buy some luxe yarn for a special project.
What I did find though was a couple of balls and a couple of hanks of shetland that had been subjected to one of my dyeing 'experiments' last year. A funny yarn, not quite DK although it was supposed to be.
One thing I'd learnt from researching the Chevron scarf was that two very unlikely colourways could blend like magic and achieve a harmonius result.
I'll leave it up to you to decide whether these two work ! I don't think it's too bad myself.

Lovely to knit, nothing stressful to remember. I'm back in my comfort zone.

Comments

[MamaShift]

Gee, I can't even get started on learning to knit 'cause I can't seem to count. I always thought I knew how, but I did have pretty terrible maths teachers.

The colors are lovely and springy and Eastery.

[thevintagemagpie]

That looks beautiful, can't wait to see the end result x

[natasha s]

Beautiful colors Asti.I figure that if something stays untouched for a while,ditch it.It is hard to do a good job on something if you aren't excited by it.I hope all is well,
take care,
Natasha x

[amy]

the chevron scarf is gorgeous. i was just wondering about the lace. i found a similar pattern i want to try, but now am a little scared. we'll see.

[Krista at AfternoonMoon]

Those colors are gorgeous! That is going to turn out beautifully!

[Ali]

I love those colours in combination. Knitting with two colours strikes me as the most amazing sort of alchemy. I have yet to try it, but I want to.

[Sweet Cottage Dreams]

Hi Asti! First of all, thanks for the visit to my blog today! Nice to meet ya!
Secondly, I so understand your resolution about putting something aside and starting something new. Sometimes we just have to fact the realization that we cannot finish something if we just don't absolutely LOVE it. Both projects are lovely though. Love the colors in the second piece!

Hugs,
Becky

[kat]

i like them both.
happy spring!
~peace.

[dottydesigns]

love the chevron scarf the colours are beautiful. x

[annieb]

I feel your pain on that lace - I really do. The chevron scarf is absolutely gorgeous though...

[Viv]

Love your blog, hope it wasn't too cold in Cornwall?
Wonderful colours on the chevron scarf, I must buy that book.
I made a scarf with a similar pattern to your mohair knitting a couple of years ago. It was from a pattern in Marie Claire Idees, if it makes you feel better it drove me mad too. I think I am a good knitter, once I have done a few rows of a pattern I can more or less remember it or work it out. But not this one! I made so many mistakes that in the end the scarf had the pattern for about 4 inches either end and in the middle it was just stocking stitch with a row of "holes" (*K2tog, m1, K8 rep from *- sort of thing) about every 10 rows.
Reassuring to know that it isn't just me that has problems sometimes.