I’m back home after a longish trip to Texas. The visit with my family was really, really good, but nothing beats getting back to my guys.
I did quite a bit of knitting while I was away although I don’t have much to show for it other than the big rectangle that the Easy Folded Poncho is becoming.
My best knitting moment happened with the English Mesh Lace Scarf. On the first leg of the trip last Monday, I opened the project bag and saw that the super slick Kidsilk Haze stitches had all slid right off the needles. After a moment of mortification, I started to think my way through the issues.
I figured ripping back was out of the question because the yarn is so grippy it’s pretty much impossible to end up with anything other than a knotted mess. Since I’d only knitted a couple of inches, I could have tossed what I had in the trash and started over, but I decided to see what I could do with it. I got all but three stitches back on the needles with relatively little effort, but finding out where the missing stitches fit in was a challenge. Fixing mistakes in lace has always been hard for me, and it was evident that one of the dropped stitches extended a few rows back through at least one set of decreases.
But I did it! After about half an hour of head scratching and delicate reworking, I got everything back where it was supposed to be. I was so happy I hadn’t just started over, even though I’m sure figuring out the problem and putting everything right took me longer than re-knitting the couple of repeats would have. The whole thing was incredibly satisfying. I just can’t tell you. And it must have made the knitting gods happy because the very next day I was rewarded with the most incredible tip.
I always stop by Strings and Things when I’m in Texas for a visit. It’s my awesome hometown yarn shop. This is a picture of the “sit and knit” area.
And these are the super cute socks Ms. C was knitting.
I ooh and ahhh over the new yarns and the projects they have on display and end up spending an hour or so just soaking up the good vibes.
Well, I was telling my Kidsilk Haze scarf story, and Ms. C had the BEST suggestion. She said when she has to rip back mohair, she puts the project in the freezer first. Freezing hardens the loose haze of fibers and makes the yarn much easier to rip back. It’s genius! I wouldn’t have thought of it in a million years, but it absolutely makes sense. If you did have to rip back, this would actually give you a fighting chance of ending up with yarn you could still use afterwards.
Anyhoo, besides knitting in the airport and on the plane, I got to knit a lot while I hung out and visited with my mom.
I had the services of an excellent assistant.
When we were at my aunt’s one day, I snapped a picture of the hilarious print she has hanging in her coffee nook. It’s kind of hard to see through the reflection off the glass, but the lady being dragged out by her feet is desperately trying to knit one more stitch before her friends pull her away to something else. I love it.
I’m going to have to squeeze in my knitting where I can this week. I’ll be playing catch up with work. The Easy Folded Poncho should come in handy for conference calls, though, and hopefully I’ll get back to my Geek-A-Long square in the evenings.
