today I'd rather blog than knit

Thanks for the replies to this weekend's lace post.

To clarify one thing, I don't think the photo from the pattern is of the first corner. This has something to do with the fact that the pattern repeat going into the corner obviously had to be finished "in the air", and was thus more incorporated into that corner turn than the last pattern repeat before the first corner will be, if one follows the pattern correctly. So I'm not going for a corner that looks exactly like that, because I realize that different people will end up at different spots in the pattern repeats after finishing a long side of the edging, and that the corners won't all be identical.

My solution, which I hope is actually a solution (and not just another side-trip into frustration), is as follows:

• Instead of working pattern repeats along the first short edge until there are two live stitches left, work until there are three stitches left. This will necessitate finishing that last pattern repeat "in the air."


• Pick up a stitch along that bottom edge of the edging. Knit 2 of the three remaining live stitches (from the short side of the shawl) together, and pass that picked up stitch over it. Put that stitch, and the one remaining stitch from the edge, on a safety pin.


• Knit one full edging repeat in the air.


• Pick up seven-ish stitches (exact number isn't something to fret about) from the bottom edge of the edging repeat, where it otherwise would have been attached to the shawl body. Move the 2 safety pin stitches to a needle, and knit them together. Pass the picked up stitches, one at a time, over the one stitch created by that k2tog. Put that one stitch back on the safety pin.


• Knit another edging repeat in the air. Keep that safety pin stitch to the front of the work. (That's not a huge thing, but I found that I had to make a decision about it, and it looks better in the end if you push it to the front.)


• Start the next pattern repeat. At the end of row 2 (the first WS row, on the way back down to the shawl), attach that row to the shawl body as instructed in the pattern. (Turning the corner to pick up your first stitch on the long edge of the shawl.)

Here are some photos. I'm not exactly proud of the photo quality here. We don't have a lot of natural light today, and I'm so fed up with this shawl that I didn't feel like dragging it around the house in search of decent light. So I worked the best magic I could with the photo software. Hopefully my best magic was at least somewhat adequate in fixing the color, brightness, and sharpness of the photos:


This shows a pattern repeat "in the air", with stitches picked up along the bottom edge, to be slipped over the safety pin stitch.



Here is the completed first corner, with a start on the edge. Ignore any post-corner edging. As you can see, it's in the process of being undone. I wasn't properly following the instructions for attaching it to the shawl body. I'm tinking yet again, but only as far as the completed corner.

So, I hope this corner lies flat. I still don't think I'm doing what the designer envisioned. I hope that I have enough fabric there to stretch around the corner without pulling it in. If I'd followed the directions as written, I certainly wouldn't have. Keep your fingers crossed. If I have to pull out that corner again, I may scrap the whole knitted edging thing and pull out a crochet hook to improvise something. Goodness knows that they're easier to pull out, and easier to improvise. Well, in theory. I've never done one, but I know the principles of the craft, and know that it would be easier to figure out how perfectly turn a corner in crochet than it is in knitting. (You've seen it, folks. 2 pro-crochet sentiments in 3 posts. Flying pigs have frozen over, and are hailing down right outside my window.)

I really don't want to look at the shawl again today. I might not, except to stuff it back in the bag. I know that once I get going things will be fine (assuming the edging is stretchy enough to allow proper blocking of the shawl...), and that I'll eventually love it again. It seems that everyone I know was "in a mood" this weekend, and that everyone includes me and the shawl. I can't wait for this mood to pass. For the record, I knit about half a pattern repeat on the Vertical Stripes Sweater sleeve this weekend. But since I was "in a mood", that's all I could stomach.

Of course, some things in life are good.



A couple of friends sent me a goodie box last week. There were many wonderful, whimsical things inside, including a tiny metal Smarties lunchbox. (American Smarties, not Canadian Smarties. I have to admit, as much as I love most things Canadian, and as much as I wanted to buy the Mountie hat I saw at the consignment shop this weekend, I prefer American Smarties to Canadian Smarties. But I'll do the Canadian thing and say sorry for being a silly American in this regard.) There were only 5 Smarties rolls inside, so I was able to clear out the box without a problem (yum), and fill it with knitting swag. I finally have a convenient place to store my stitch markers and assorted other swallowables! Whee!