lisa-knits's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NoWillpower I have no willpower when it comes to starting new projects before I finish the old ones. I can't help it. I think that's a downside to having an "adequate" stash. And the downside to keeping it in the bedroom. When I can't sleep, I sit and look through my yarns to see what jumps out at me. Over the weekend, while I couldn't sleep, I sat up and went through the yarns again. And since I've been dissatisfied with the way the Fan Stitch shawl is coming out, I went ahead and started a new shawl. I still haven't made up my mind on what to do with the "Fan" shawl, but have gotten some good suggestions to try before I rip it out and start fresh. Either way, I gave in to temptation and started the Fibertrends "Sheep Shawl" in steel grey Jaggerspun Zephyr. I started it Sunday evening, and worked on it yesterday for the better part of the day. I'm already past the "Sunshine" lace pattern and into the "Orchard" lace. I really like using Fibertrends patterns. They're clearly written, and use both charts and written-out instructions. I'm not comfortable with charts, so I like having the "full version" of the instructions at my fingertips. If it were in chart only form, I would be less likely to knit it, or I would probably write out the charts in long-hand before I got started. I started using the yarn straight from the 1/2 pound mini-cone it was wound on, but J decided he needed the cardboard cone as a trumpet. So, I removed the cone, and started winding the yarn from the inside, using my ball winder. That's when the trouble started. In roughly the first 700 yards of yarn, I found about 6 breaks and cuts in the yarn. I can't remember which on-line vendor I purchased the yarn from, though, or I would let them know about the problems. It doesn't seem to be a defect in the yarn, since the majority were clean cuts, rather than breaks. The remainder of the cone wound up ok, with only one or two more cuts. It seems it might have been something to do with the winding of the yarn onto the cone, but I'm not sure. Rather than knot the yarn when I came to a break, leaving it to deal with later, I used the Russian Join to fix them and keep on winding. What a cool little trick. Now when I get to a mended area, unless I pay strict attention to the yarn, I can't really tell where I put the join. I want to work on the shawl exclusively, but I really need to finish B's gloves (60% complete) and also K's gloves and sweater. K's birthday is at the end of the month, and I've been promising these items to her for what seems like forever, so I'm aiming to get them finished by then. 11:24 a.m. - Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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