Friday, September 28, 2007

The Demise of Grace...Or Why I Should Stick to Simple YO's

"Oh Mom...oh, man um...hey, it happens to everyone! Right Atticus? Oh...no...oh that sucks..."

I went to block Grace last week. And I was SO happy that my tension was perfect! Yay me *pats on shoulder*. And then back was pinned down, the ribbing lace slightly stretched and pinned into place, to match the front. Yay me *pats on other shoulder*. Then, it dawned on me that the length between the top of the ribbing and the beginning of the armhole shaping wasn't lining up... It seemed so much smaller than the front. And no matter how much I willed it, it wasn't a design feature either. It just wasn't matching up.

The fact that I had forgotten to knit a whole 30 row repeat on the back between the top of the ribbing and the start of the armhole shaping may have had something to do with it. Because it seems that in LaLa Brigitte Land, "repeat twice" can be loosely interpreted to mean "once".


So, I calmly packed her away in a bag, and intend to never look at her for a very long time. No, I do not have the heart to rip her back and redo the back. Yes I'm sure.

If anyone out there who's between a 36" and a 40" would like to finish her up - she's yours! Just drop me a note. There is one sleeve to complete, partially redoing the back, and then the collar. Yes, I'm sure. I'm knitting it in a black wool/silk blend from...elann I think.


Should just stick to cables and Fair Isle. Unless it's a simple lace simple (and I mean simple), I blow. Oh well...


"Hello darkness my old friend...I've come to talk with you again..."


"Oh Titania Queen of the Fairies! Wait! I do want to join your merry band of nymphs!"

"...so I says, I would knit if I could by I can't so I don't but I wish I could and then I saw my cousin Finnegan and he was saying he wished he could do stuff like quilt but he can't so he doesn't but sure wishes he could and then the TV changed channels I didn't know it could do that but if you click on the hand thingy the channels change to whatever you want and when Mom's at work I sleep on Atticus' head and he lets me but not always did you know that if you keep playing with the roll of paper in the bathroom eventually it runs out and then there's the magic cardboard roll to play with that I love so much..."

The Little Dudes and their treats. 'Nough said about that. Gandalf went psycho with the catnip! Whereas Mae goes silly and stares into space, and Atticus just uh, stares into space, Gandalf is pretty much BOUNCING of the walls. I could barely get a picture of him until he'd calmed down. Hee hee...

As for knitting, I intend to finish up Mermaid (I know, I know, I owe you pictures of her), and keep working on Laleli. So pretty...wait to you see how she's looking! I'll post progress pictures the next time around.

Have a wonderful, cool Fall weekend!

19 comments:

Marina said...

Poor Grace, may she rest in peace!

But Brigitte, at least you gave it a try. And it's a mistake anyone could and do make with any pattern. Sometimes, I've wished a project would end and left out repeats ;-)

Hope you have a good time with Mermaid & Laleli!

Bridget said...

Oh, too bad, it looks like it otherwise was very pretty!

I think a time out for both of you is a good idea ...

The kitty pictures are hilarious!

Chris said...

Oh no!! :(

Maybe you need some of that high quality nip the Little Dudes are on...

Michelle Martino said...

Oh how I feel your pain!

Carrie K said...

Gandalf and I have similar conversational styles.

Bad Grace! Tricking you like that.

Lorraine said...

Bridge- Trust me, we've all been there. For whatever reason, it wasn't meant to be.
But don't give up on lace knitting. Something without shaping would be better, then you can concentrate on the pattern.

Onward and upward!
(and maybe the cats are on to something good)

Anonymous said...

It is so, so wrong that my first thought was that maybe this means I'll have my Grace before you have yours. Just maybe, because I haven't started her yet. And won't let myself until I've finished my Jane Origami pullover. But still. I am a bad, bad person.

Traceyleezle said...

lolz at the kitties with their nip. Sorry to hear about Grace.

Sonya said...

I have a lace project that's been banished for nearly the same offense. Once armhole perfectly shaped; one armhole 4 times as big. You have my sympathies.

The joys of catnip!

bellamoden said...

Oh honey! What a maddening thing. I'd help rescue her, but I'm a lefty... that would be too weird, I'm guessing. Poor Grace! She deserves better.

My Little Room In The Corner said...

Your posts always give me a smile and a chuckle.
Sorry about Grace. Lock her away and only give her light when she promises to be reasonable.

Shannon said...

Poor you :( Bad Grace.

Marji said...

oh I feel your pain.
But Wow I admire your ability to just say Uncle and put it away, rather than harbor the guilt forever of saying "I need to finish this someday".
onward.
and may I suggest that you don't do anything with those AV charts then for awhile - equally as frustrating, and they won't do anything for the confidence factor. Besides, your fair isle is so incredibly wonderful.

miyamojo said...

Oh nooo! I bagged blue blob too.
Mermaid & Laleli will go well. :)
I run to aran and fair isle after lace knocks me down... but I still wanna lace knit - crazy huh?! ;)
Maybe we need some catnip... where's the chocolate?!
Happy Knitting! m :)

Lynn said...

Oh I feel your pain!! And dont blame you one bit by getting rid of the evidence. Maybe you should try some of the catnip as well! Or MAYBE that's why there was only one repeat......

Anonymous said...

Oh. My. Gosh. Poor you! And poor Grace - may she rest in peace!
The kitty pics are hilarious once more - I so adore them playing with their goodies ;)

Brenda said...

How too bad and disheartening! But it WAS NOT an inability on your part to knit lace; it was missing a repeat, which could happen with cables, fair isle, etc. Don't be too discouraged about knitting lace. But knit what makes you happy!

Silly kitties!

knitseashore said...

Oh, that is so horrible!! At least you are smart enough to put it away. Maybe after some time out, you could bear to fix it, after all the time you've already put into it?

Until then, some cat therapy is definitely in order. Their comments were really funny!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry Grace didn't work out for you.

It's so funny how the nip affects them differently. Meems doesn't care for it. She just watches the other two go crazy and sits back and watches them. She can't figure out what all the fuss is about.