Saturday, 4 October 2008

Picking up where I left off

Once upon a time, in a fit of Pi Shawl enthusiasm, I started a new one, hot on the heels of the first one.

The first one happened so quickly, that I found myself missing it almost at once. On a day off from work, I started the second, and made it a lace one. In malabrigo, colourway 'Verdes'. She started out so well.

greenpi

Somewhere along the way, I slowed down. Hundreds of stitches in lace weight yarn is kind of a slog, isn't it? Who'd have thought it?

A few days ago I began to think of a wedding I'm attending on 1 November. (Have just been to the hens night tonight, hence the very late Blogtoberfest posting). I decided I wanted to do as Donna Lee did and make a shawl to wear to it. Something airy and delicate.  Then as I began to be overtaken by panic at the thought of such a deadline, I remembered my somewhat abandoned pi shawl and began to breathe again.

Just one problem. The last time I played with my pi shawl, I started doing the gull stitch part that Elizabeth Zimmerman recommends. Bad idea. I hated it. Three or four repeats in and I decided it was ugly. Either gull stitch itself or my poor interpretation of it. I just couldn't get it right. See? It's a dog's breakfast.

pi

This morning, I bit the bullet and put a life line in. 572 stitches we're talking about. And the full length of one of the Star Wars movies later (the second prequel, we're working our way through them), I had it done. Bitch of a job. But it's done and the pi shawl and i are back on track.

No more of that nasty gull stitch. Ugh. It's the first four row repeat I've met that just didn't agree with me. 

Phew, just made it in before midnight. And turning the clocks forward. To bed, to bed, sleepy head.

Bells