Ain't it purty?

I come back to blogland after a stressful and challenging week of video production. Gotta pay those yarn bills. My beads arrived yesterday from EarthFaire and they go perfectly with the Schaefer Laurel Catherine the Great colorway. I had ordered some beads from another source and the color just didn't work, but these are great. They kindly provided a dental floss threader and I was able to thread the beads without too much trouble, and have now done six rows of my Amazing Lace project, "Variations on a Frill." This was my first time working with beads. I ordered "megatamas" which have the hole slightly off center which positions them differently (and nicely I think) for garments. I am imagining all kinds of uses - I really like this idea of beading on the cast-on and want to start investigating other fun ways to incorporate beads into the knitting. I got some other beads in other colors: a lovely gold, peony pink, chartreuse, and ice/silver

Also pictured is the "right half" of the front of my Victorian Jacket in Great Adirondack. I have six pattern blocks to go, then the sleeves and then the lace edging and finishing.

I have completed the third of my cable strips for the throw, and ordered two additional colors of Cashmerino Chunky so I have all my supplies. I got coral and teal - I think it will be beautiful. I expect to receive my Vogue cable stitchionary any day now so maybe I'll find some cool cables to try out.

Binding off

I completed the mosaic square from my Great North American Afghan class XRX's The Great North American Afghan Project. And I took part one of a sock class, and have done the leg portion on both pair to prevent the dreaded SSS I have read so much about. I can relate to the joys of sock knitting and am itching to cast on another pair with the delicious Carolyn Greenwood cotton/rayon sock yarn that arrived today.

But I am firm about working on my WIPs, thanks to Knitters UFO Anonymous support so despite that fact that I have bound off 3 squares and completed my class assignment on the socks (part 2 of the 3 part sock class is next Friday), I will resist the urge to cast on, and continue with the Victorian jacket WIP, adn the handle on the Nicky Epstein Fuschia bag that I've been working on.

I tell myself, it will feel good to complete these things.
PS I have come up with an fast easy use for the Fiesta Rayon Boucle Yarn in Safari that I bought (a garter shawl on big needles).

Done!

Finally, finally, finished the first square from the afghan square class I've been taking at Village Knittery. It went quite smoothly, after dear Teacher Karyn patiently undid several rounds and got me back to a reasonable starting place. Not sure quite what the problem is - I think just a long learning curve for DPNs. I am loving the mosaic square that she taught us this Saturday, and am eager to explore more mosaic patterns - there was a big article last summer in one of the knitting mags, so I will dig that out. I actually willingly frogged about 12 rows when I confirmed my suspicions that I was supposed to use a bobbin for the center square - doesn't quite make sense to me since it works to slip the rows -why do it differently, but I AM FOLLOWING DIRECTION and ripped it and am back to where I was, more than halfway done.
The other square was worked in the round from the center out and it went more smoothly for me; I learned the technique of knitting in the row below which makes for a nice texture. Don't love the colors I chose and will be switching to some other colors for the rest of the class. Will make these into pillows...

UFOs

I have been posting in my online groups and bitching about my UFO status. I much prefer casting on and knitting to binding off, seaming, duplicate stitch, end weaving etc. I have offered $$ to help me clear up the clutter. While surfing I found a blog which provides support to those of us with similar issues, so I signed up. Here is a list of my UFOs, or AKA what's on the needles:

One mosaic afghan square stitch - halfway done - will finish this week

Cotton chenille flower washcloth - the knitting is quite tedious now that it is in the round...

Cardishawl in cashmerino superchunky -- need to unravel the sleeves, undo the bindoff, knit a bit more to make it a little longer, crochet a trim and make it a wrap, not a "cardishawl"

Not on the needles, but I should cast on another cable strip so that my 2 cables have some company and are on their way to becoming a blanket

the front/sleeves of the Victorian Jacket

Karabella mohair circular crochet shawl - perhaps I will repurpose that yarn into one of the many knit lace patterns I found while choosing an Amazing Lace project.

The Nicky Epstein fuschia purse. I have to knit one more handle - and then seam it, duplicate stitch, weave ends etc... The handle is a good carry in the purse project to pick up any time so I will cast that on and put it in my bag...

And then there is the sequin fringe to sew on the roses purse, and the seam to finish on the Chinese Lantern bag - and some cord to buy for the drawstring...

Problem is I have so many things in my queue! I have conceived and have all the components for a ripple wrap with the Judi & Co ribbon yarn that I've been pondering for some time. And then there is the lace projects in the previous post. The old cliche is true for good reason: so much yarn, so little time!

A new challenge: lace knitting

I am joining Amazing Lace too; I am a novice lace knitter - have never used laceweight yarn. the closest I've come to a true lace project is the Versatile Lattice capelet/wrap which uses the Elizabeth Lattice from Nicky Epstein's On the Edgee. I bought the Fiddlesticks Lotus Blossom Shawl pattern and some Zephyr, but I think I will do the Knitty project, Variation on a Frill. This uses beads, which I have never incorporated into knitting before, and it seems like an easy way to use them - you just incorporate them on the cast on.
I was thinking of using the Schaefer Laurel Yarn in Catherine the Great colorway that I used for the Elizabeth Lattice. Now I have to wait for my beads to arrive to cast on, which is fine because I have several WIPs, and several more planned.

I found a great article by the Variations on a Frill designer, Sivia Harding, about knitting with beads, so that is helpful.
I do really want to try a true laceweight pattern and so will perhaps try the Lotus with Zephyr after this - anyone have experience to share? I saw a neat Blog about the Flower Basket Shawl with various tips the blogger learned...



The photos show two examples of the Lotus, one from the Yarn Harlot (the white alpaca).

It was so fun hunting for lace patterns; I have several books that have them -
one I was very tempted by was in Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick - it's a tablecloth made of linen napkins with linen lace patterning .. I was also tempted by the Fishtail scarf and the Falling Leaves scarf that have been circulating in blogland for some time. I love leaf patterns... There are several nice lace patterns in the 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns book by Jan Eaton; I am going to do some destashing with multiyarns and make ripple wraps with some yummy Judi & Co ribbon yarn that I got at Stitches - but I am having a terrible time winding these skeins - I seem to always have trouble - not sure what I am doing wrong when I put the yarn on the gizmo (any tips?)

Rohrschach knitting

My analogy may not be completely spot on, but as I bound off two projects yesterday and contemplated my WIPs, UFOs, WALL OF YARN, completed works, and on-the-drawing-boards, it occurs to me that my experience with the fiber arts highlights my foibles and failings to an uncomfortable degree.
Take the squares from the Great North American Afghan book. I bound one off yesterday, pleased that I seemed to get this one right - stitch count never off, no dropped stitches that I couldn't handle, no need to ask teach for help. And then, I look at the color jogs at the spot where the work meets (it is worked in the round). Maybe it will look better after I weave in the ends. I don't know. But I am disappointed all the same, and start to think of other knitters out there: they know what to do, they know how to do it better (like what I told myself about parenting for years, and sometimes still do).
Then the other square, which is actually so simple, I had to rip out once, get help from the teacher, and now there is still another mistake that I am waiting til Saturday to get help with again. I don't want to rip it out, I don't like it enough to do it over again, I am bored. I think: "other knitters do a better job, they wouldn't make a mistake like this, they are more careful, or they would rip it out and find the mistake."
The Cardishawl pattern from Karabella that I knit with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky - there are knots in it that I was too lazy to undo, and weave in later. The whole piece was a failure in conception.
Here is what I see when I think about these and other projects: I am hasty to cast on, love buying yarn and dreaming of projects more than actually completing them, I would rather dispatch an extra stitch with a k2tog than figure out where the culprit first appeared. Basically, a lack of attention to deatil -- ahem, detail, sloth, living with frayed edges and sloppy seams - not a perfectionist by a long shot (of course this rant uncovers the uber-perfectionist within).
The yarns that are too beautiful to knit - nothing seems just right just yet, I'd rather hold on and wait to FIGURE OUT the EXACT right thing, ask one more person for their opinion, maybe there is a GURU out there who can fix me, oops - I mean help me.

I've gone through several enthusiasms - rubber stamping, buddhism, window art (yep, those sticky things you put on the window that kids usually do) buy lots of supplies, do it for a while, it doesn't come out as nice as I had hoped or I don't exhibit the discipline I so admire, I get discouraged and enthusiasm wanes.
I feel a bit discouraged that my projects aren't as perfect or beautiful as could be. I look at them and all I see are the flaws - kind of like how I view myself in life too.
Yes, I can list the good things that my pursuit of this hobby illustrates. Enthusiasm, quest for knowledge, desire to learn new skills (no more garter scarves), seek new challenges, engage and share with friends, make new friends, etc. But that list is just not as fascinating as the judgemental one and there, my friends, is the rub.
Maybe knitting/the fiber arts can be a lesson in seeing what went right, learning from what went wrong, blessing the bliss of being able to be in the moment, living one stitch at a time, feeling the fiber pass from needle to needle, hand to hand.