Monday, February 27, 2006

My search for perfection

Here's the "Blue Blob" safely back on the needles.

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Isn't it lovely. I can't stop hugging it. I fear I'm starting to form an unhealthy attachment to my knitting. There was a scary moment when I realized I had gotten the pattern repeat wrong two rows down and created holes in the middle of five diamonds. But I performed some emergency surgery with an extra set of needles and a crochet hook. I'm feeling quite clever. That section is a little stretched out, but I'm hoping some blocking will fix that. I've finished all of the border repeats and need to select a edging. I swatched the original pattern edging.

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I don't like it. Well, I do like it. It's pretty and lacy and triangular. But it's not for this shawl. It's too, oh I don't know, "triangular" for this project. The edges are too sharp for the lines I've already picked out.

I then swatched a "Veil Nebula Edging."

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It's unblocked, and lumpy and squashed together. I can't decide if I like it or not. I liked the picture in the pattern book. I didn't like the swatch. But the more I look at the picture of the swatch I see the potential that could be if I actually blocked it. I don't know. In the end I don't think it's right. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it.

So being unable to make any further progress on my shawl I cast on some socks. Yes, I know, Evil is still lurking on my side-bar waiting for my attention. But I want something I might actually finish so I cast on some socks. I have lovely pink/purple colorways waiting to be made into socks, and some bright self-striping yarn waiting, not to mention my new Yukon yarn. And did I cast on any of those exciting colorful yarns?

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Nope. I'm being a good wife and making socks for The Greatest. He really deserves them. If I'm not going to finish his sweater ever the least I can do is provide him with one pair of socks a year. We flipped through a stitch pattern book together and he selected a "Giant Diamond" pattern.

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It's an easy repetitive pattern. Not too taxing on the brain. Leaves my mind free to think about the perfect edging. But at a mind-numbing 9 stitches per inch it is very slow going.

5 comments:

Lynda said...

That is a great sock pattern! Perfect for guy socks - something fun to knit, but not to "fancy" for them!

Chris said...

Hmm, are you going to block the nebula edging to see what it ends up as? As it is, it looks like it will be a little fussy...

Ah, a nice simple sock pattern to balance off the shawl!

Knittypants said...

I am sure knitting those socks will give you lots of time to come up with the perfect edging. It's a nice pattern you picked for the socks.

shizzknits said...

that blue blob is going to be soooo lovely when it's done!

Bitterknitter said...

Keep searching, and the perfect edging will find you! Boyd is probably holding it hostage ;-)!
Just make sure you don't settle, because the blue blob is truly a thing of beauty, so find something that speaks to you, and complements all the work you've already put into it! It will come, meantime, you have socks and, dare I say *COUGH* Evil *COUGH* to keep you busy!