Today shall be forever known as the Day of the Dropped Stitches, for Better or for Worse.

For Better

I am obsessed with Jeanie, from the Winter 2007/2008 issue of Knitty. So pretty, so fun to knit. And it's lace (fun!) without being too "girly", and not floral at all. I think the cables help with the androgyny of it. Well, not that a lacy shawl could ever be truly androgynous, but as I said, at least it's not floral. I'm working mine in laceweight (Cherry Tree Hill Merino Lace), and with fewer repeats of Chart C, so it will be more like a scarf than a shawl (hence Jeanette).

Even smaller than the original pattern, it's still the slowest knit I've ever encountered. It's all ribbing (even the cables), so you never get a good rhythm going. I also never seem to be able to put it down. It's addictive!

In the early hours of this morning, I got to the first row where I got to drop stitches. The yarn has a halo to it (being merino and all), and some of the stitches wanted to adhere together and not drop easily, but with a little persuasion and the help of my crochet hook, I got them to obey. It was terrifying (I couldn't help but worry I miswrapped ONE stitch somewhere along the line and the entire thing was going to fall to pieces in my hands), but oh god was it worth it.

So here, ladies and gentlemen, for your viewing pleasure, are three beautiful cables surrounded by dropped-stitch ladders:



(And yes, I am aware that however beautiful Jeanette is, my carpet is ugly of equal magnitude.)

I also LOVE knitting directly from the skein (no pesky ball-winding). I just drape it over my lap, revel in its softness, and try not to move too much. When it's time to put it away, I just twist it, and pull one end through the other. Easy as pie.



For Worse

Remember the Double-Knit Socks I posted about a few days ago? I was socking along, and decided to do a test-pull and make sure one wasn't attached to the other.

Well, it was.

There were two possible solutions: frog back two inches (really four, since it's two per sock!), or try to drop a few stitches down and fix it back up with a crochet hook. Needless to say, I chose the latter.

I got three stitches dropped down (and grabbed on a stitch holder to prevent further unraveling), and realized that somehow I had a 3" tail connecting the two socks that didn't want to let go. So I dropped a stitch on the other side.

Wait, no, there were TWO tails connecting the socks. What the hell was going on here? It looked like I did something really, really odd with one of the wrap and turns in the short-row toe.

My mind sufficiently boggled, I decided to set the socks down and finish fixing them in the morning when I have better light. Whatever the solution, it will probably include scissors and knots. Lots of knots.

Here's what my poor crazy socks look like right now:




Needless to say, tonight I'm drinking and working on Jeanette. At least she loves me.