Wednesday, August 12, 2009

RTFD.

First, a cautionary tale.

Charts are good. Lace charts are great. It's quite helpful to have a visual display of just what is going on when you do that K2tog, k1, yo, k3, yo, ssk. So much better than trying to follow written directions for a 24-stitch repeat over a 300+ row shawl. Finish a row, check it off, move up. Finish one chart section, groove on to the next--

AFTER you check the written directions.

I forgot this on the Aeolian shawl. I went straight from the final Agave chart to the Edge Setup Chart without checking the written directions. The ones that say to use the Right, Left and Center edge charts, and not just make the center Edge Setup Chart work by use of creative decreases and increases. It didn't occur to me that I should be concerned that the number of stitches didn't work out, and that the edges looked wonky from missing yarn-overs. I didn't think to stop and check the directions until I was 23 rows into the chart, with over 270 stitches in each row.



I wasn't feeling well last Saturday, and it didn't help my queasy stomach to sit at Starbucks and rip out four weeks of work. See the picture above (with bonus helper cat)? Everything that's wrapped around the working skein was ripped out, including 50 beads. I managed to get everything back on the needles without sobbing or distributing fistfuls of hair into other people's coffee. I even re-knit the first three rows (correctly!).

It's a good thing that I love this yarn and these beads.

In spinning news:

Still working on the Blue Moon sock yarn. I'm almost finished with the second bobbin of singles. Yeah, trying for the Tour de Fleece was pretty much a waste of time.

In baking news:



That's one loaf of Oatmeal Maple Pecan bread and one loaf of English Granary bread, baked last week and now nearly gone. The Maple Pecan is for my breakfast during the week, and the English Granary bread is for dinners. I substituted honey for the golden syrup called for in the recipe; wonder how much it would cost to get golden syrup imported to the Midwest?

I baked another loaf of Oatmeal Maple Pecan today on my "day off". I'm hoping that as I get into practice, soon it won't take the entire morning. The taste is worth it, though. Dense, nutty and filling; toast a slice, add a spoonful of unsweetened peanut butter, and I'm good until lunch.