8 bells and all is well

I learned, long ago, that if you are stuck on a problem and favorable resolution slips beyond your grasp, leaving only frustration in it's wake, the best thing to do is just walk away and leave it be for a bit. Amazingly, more times than not, once you return you find the answer sitting there waiting for you, leaving you to wonder how you did not see it sooner, or why it seemed so difficult. I personally do not spend too much time on wondering though, I tend not to look gift horses in the mouth, if you know what I mean.

Since the only results I was managing to find when I began my lacrosse project, the one I ended up ripping out, was not productive, I thought the answer would be, just try another project. But while looking at other patterns I began to sense that perhaps this was one of those instances where I just needed to walk away for a bit. Give it, or rather me, a rest.

These past couple of days have been dedicated to getting acquainted with some of lace knitting's more accomplished teachers/artists. While preparing for my weaving project I visited the library and checked out a few books, among them were "Knitting Lace" by Susan Lewis, "Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls" by Martha Waterman, The Lacy Knitting of Mary Schiffmann" by Nancy Nehring and of course Galina Khmeleva and Carol Noble's "Gossamer Webs, the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls". I am now sure that this is what needed to happen. If I had not put that knitting down I would have continued to stumble, maybe not blindly, but most certainly severely visually and mentally impaired, through the project, quite possibly becoming more and more frustrated and I suspect it would not have been pretty. Someone was going to get hurt......"When the student is ready, the Teacher appears". I am now better prepared and I think I can hear my husband breathing a sigh of relief.

I am now gaining possession of the language, techniques and yes, even the spirituality of lace knitting. A whole new world is beginning to open to me and the terrain is becoming more familiar.

After spending a good portion of the day doing more research I decided to pick up my yarn, needles as well as the initial pattern, the one I started with and very nearly gave up on, and everything seems to be clicking. I have just sailed, effortlessly through the first 8 rows and the weather continues to look great, not a cloud in sight.