Kill Me Now

It is quite shocking for me to see that the last time I did a blog post was 10 days ago. Along for the Ride really did a number on me.  If I even walk too close to my stash, I break out in a sweat & start to shake.  I absolutely cannot stitch right now.  My guess is that if I were able to pick up a piece of linen, choose a pattern & threads, & sit down to stitch, I might be able to do it, but the picking/choosing/sitting associated with it all I just haven't been able to do.  I'm sure I will stitch again.  Could be today, could be next week, could be a year from now.  It will happen.

In the meantime, I decided to knit something. There is no way I can just sit at night & do nothing.  I chose to knit a shawl.  I like shawls, & I could really use one when John & I sit out on the front porch & the wind is a bit too cool.  I had some yarn I bought last year so I looked on Ravelry for an uncomplicated shawl pattern.  This is the yarn.

This is the shawl.

Make a mental note of the size of this shawl. The gal who made it indicated that she used 5 skeins of the above yarn brand (different color though) & that she knitted the shawl on size 8 needles.  I had 5 skeins of the yarn & I had size 8 needles.  I eagerly began knitting, picturing how lovely & warm it would be around my shoulders.

This type of yarn is self striping meaning that it makes stripes as you knit with it.  The colorway I used, #250, has several shades of purples, pinks & blues.  I like purples, pinks & blues.  However, after knitting the first skein of yarn & seeing the stripes materialize, I started to hear Cher singing "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves" in my head & she never shut up.  Although I like these colors, I quickly realized that stripes are not my thing. Despite this realization, I continued to knit deciding that, if nothing else, I could always gift the shawl to someone or maybe even try to sell it.  

I used 40" circular needles so the shawl bunched up as I was knitting it, but this was not unexpected.  Last night I finished knitting the last skein with enough yarn left over to bind off.  This is what I ended up with.

I left my feet in the picture thinking it might give you an idea of the shawl's size.  It would probably be a large, comfortable shawl for a Munchkin.  For normal size people, it's more of a shawlette.  For me, it's like a neckerchief. To say I am disappointed is putting it mildly. I will be the first to admit that I don't possess an extensive knitting knowledge, & I assume it's possible that I need to block & stretch the shawl to make it resemble the one this other gal proudly displayed on her fence in the snow.  It would need to be stretched pretty dang far though   : (

On the bright side, I did learn a few things while knitting this shawl.  On the skills level, I learned to do a cable cast on, a seed stitch, a seed stitch bind off, & how to splice.  On a "know thyself" level, I learned that I never again want to use striping yarns.

I don't know where I'm going to go from here. Try knitting another shawl?  I have plenty of yarns & patterns.  Knitting a pair of socks?  I have plenty of yarns & patterns.  Fingerless mitts?  Again, plenty of yarns & patterns. Cross stitch something?  Doubtful, but then again, who knows.  I'll give it some thought today & let you know what I decide.