The Forth Skein

 This afternoon I hit the magical 4th skein of yarn in the 4 color fade shawl.  I did not even notice when I went over the Russian join.  Which was very surprising to me.  We were returning from a day trip to Scottsdale. Of course John was driving, I would never knit while driving. It just feels so unsafe, like a very distracted driver. I was exhausted when it was time to add the join. I always add the Russian join a few yards before I need to.  I like the yarn to rest and settle into place. We were going down I-10 going the speed limit of 75 mph. We were on a straight stretch of freeway.  I got my tool kit out and managed to make a pretty decent join considering I was not at a table. This is definitely not a beginner move.  

Each row is now taking about 30 minutes to complete. The shawl bottom is in excess of 50 inches. The only question I have is will it be ready by Thursday for the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild Fashion Show. Now I did tell my husband that I would model it even if it was not finished. Even if I had the yarn on my spinner yarn holder, minus the bottom of the butler part of course. If you want a yarn spinner like mine, Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson  carries them. I think I will have about 2 to 3 hours to knit tomorrow, which should be another 4 to 6 rows.  I am so bad at the math figuring out how far the yarn will actually go that I will be playing yarn chicken with this shawl.  

You will notice that I keep my Lantern Moon tightening tool and dropped stitch tool in the center of my yarn spinner. This is so that they are always ready when I need them. You can also see all the colors of the fade. 

Yarn Chicken Time

 I am at the end of a very large shawl. It did not start out that way. I started with a 3 stitch wide key. After the key was completed I increased by 6 stitches every other row. So the rows got very long very quickly.  I have been playing yarn chicken for a while, since I am just awful at the Geometry needed to calculate how much yarn I would use per 4 square inches. Then figuring out my yardage divided by the yarn used in 4 inches. Then factoring in the 6 stitch increase every other row.  Then when to stop when I hit a certain gram weight of the yarn. The designers I know that are mathematicians, engineers, physicists and science types have the easiest time with this.

Yes, I know that they have computer programs that figure all that out for you. Personally the artist in me thinks that is cheating.  It take the spontaneity and creativity out of the process of designing. So I put Yarn chicken. This is also why I give the gauge for before and after washing. I really know that is Quirky of me.

Since I am doing a picot edge on the shawl, I want to make sure that I have enough yarn to complete the edging. If I have a little extra I’m fine with that. I mean the rows are so long and the shawl is deep enough that a row or two wouldn’t matter. It’s better than ripping out a few. On this shawl it’s a demon. I already ripped out 20 rows mid shawl to fix a mistake. 

I want to make sure that I have enough yarn to complete the edging. If I have a little extra I’m fine with that. I mean the rows are so long and the shawl is deep enough that a row or two wouldn’t matter.

So tomorrow I pull out the stitch Bible and find my edging pattern and finish the shawl. By the way here is how much yarn I have left. 

Yarn Chicken and More

 Today has not been the best day for me.  So I started doing what I do best.  Stress cleaning. I filled 1 box for Goodwill.  Filled 3 bags of quilting and sewing projects that I am going to pass on to a friend. Emptied 6 inches of books on quilting to give to the same friend. I figured that if she could not use them she would know someone who would.  Emptied half a craft cabinet drawer.  Tomorrow I will go through my fiber stash and see what I want to keep.  The rest I will pass on to a friend.  I also emptied 3 large plastic storage boxes that I will pass on to the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild next week.  

After all that you would think that would have made a dent in my mood.  Sadly, no.  It only left me questioning my life choices.  Would I have done anything differently? Probably not.  

I am also playing a game of yarn chicken with a charity hat.  I am not sure that I will win.  To win I need enough yarn in this little ball of yarn to finish this hat.  I am at the point where I need to change to a set of double pointed knitting needles. Wish me luck.