Knitting in Tandem, conclusion

I can't believe I finally finished this lace headcovering. After having to put the work down for a few months to concentrate on helping Onida understand the difference between her toybox and my knitting basket (see "Knitting in Tandem February post below), along with other basic puppy lessons. As much and I enjoyed working on this project with Onida I was relieved when I could finally focus on finishing this gift for a friend, by myself, in some sort of timely manner.

I do love knitting lace and knew it would take some time, given the needle size, but did not realize that knitting 880 (lace weight) yards of a rather complicated pattern could take so long. One of the more significant time bandits was that with this pattern when a mistake was discovered some rows down, I couldn't just rip those rows out and put the work back on the needles easily, so, instead, I had to tink the rows, which can be very time consuming. It would have been more relaxing if it had not been for a friend, but rather something I was making for myself I would have been less concerned about the time it took. Still it was a real adventure and I always appreciate adventures, not to mention the joy working with alpaca.

Yes, I am still using my bed as a blocking tool. There are just too many other uses for my fibre allowance when I can make do with pinning it to an old quilt, open a window and turn the ceiling fan on high...takes no long time at all. The trick is to keep Onida and KiKi occupied until blocking is complete.

Knitting in Tandem

Our new furbaby, Onida, had made several contributions to my "headcovering" project that resulted in loosing approximately 10 rows...twice. There is nothing I enjoy more than trying to put lacework back on the needles after having to rip rows out. Finally the third time I caught her working on it I just couldn't find the energy to rip enough rows out to attempt to get it back on the needles, instead, out of frustration, I chose to tear the whole project out, set it and all my other knitting projects aside.....up high, until I could help her understand that my knitting basket is not her toy box and dogs just don't have the facility for knitting. I could hardly blame her, she is just a puppy, but happily she learns quickly and it really did not take too long for her to recognize what is hers and what should be left alone. Now that I am able to set my knitting and other work down, without fear of finding it strung out all over the floor, I am enjoying my fibre activities once again.

I have chosen, long ago, to look for the good in everything, even the not so pleasant experiences can be turned to something positive, in most cases, if nothing else a lesson learned is better than nothing. In this case, while I was waiting to go back to my knitting I came across a free pattern online, Plymouth Yarns' Wedding Shawl. As soon as I saw it I thought of my friend. The fern pattern that borders the shawl, reminds me of her love for plants and the more structured lace pattern in the centre reminds me of her reserved nature, so I took advantage of having to tear the old project completely out to replace that pattern with one that I feel suits her batter. I am modifying it a bit to size down from a shawl to a headcovering and am having a lot more fun knitting this one than the previous one, I imagine due in large part to the fact that now all conditions are now just right.