Knitter Monkey

On Friday, we went up to stay at a cabin in Blue Ridge, GA for our anniversary - for our honeymoon, we went up to a cabin there that was fantastic and secluded and beautiful, and that was where I really learned how to knit socks, though I'd made Knitty's Fuzzy Feet once before. I thought it only fitting that I tackle something challenging again on this trip, so on Thursday I picked up a copy of FiberTrend's Flower Basket Shawl pattern. Much like the socks, I'd knit lace on one previous occasion (my I Do shrug), but it wasn't really lace lace, and I didn't really understand what I was doing. As an added motivation, we are going to a friend's wedding in Savannah this weekend, and I recently bought some hand-dyed laceweight wool/silk that would make a perfect shawl for my dress.

This is how much shawl I can knit in three and a half days:

I only really messed up once in the middle, where for about four consecutive rows I would mysteriously find my stitch count was off. Since we were at this cabin, I didn't have a needle or thread or even extra yarn, so there was no lifeline, and instead I had to study my knitting, identify where I went wrong, and then slowly, painstakingly pick my stitches back. I'm actually glad I did - I have a much better understanding of how the pattern works now, and the stitches themselves. I'm also only about twenty rows away from having a beautiful shawl to wear this weekend, at which point I will get to experience the magic of blocking.