This shawl is going to the Bad Knitting Basket

It's not that I haven't been enjoying knitting this shawl. The pattern has been easy and fun to knit. It's not that I don't like the yarn. It's soft and cozy and knits up nicely. It's not that I don't have the perfect beads for the edging. After three tries, I found the perfect beads.This stupid shawl does not want to be finished and has conspired in every way to make my knitting life miserable.

The first clue. What I thought were the perfect beads had too much yellow in them. I went to a different store and bought new beads...still too yellow. I dug through my stash and found some other beads that would have been perfect. I moved on to the second ball of yarn.

Second clue. Instead of winding nicely, I had Yarn Barf. It should have taken 5 minutes to wind the ball of yarn not 45. Same dye lot....different colour. Ironically, the second ball of yarn was more yellow so I was back to picking new beads. I knit on
Third clue As I was about to start the final set of charts, I thought I should count my stitches. The number was out - way out... not even close. Well past fudging. I checked previous charts and found my error. Way back. Near the beginning. This one will reside in the basket while I decide it's fate. I hate to admit defeat but some projects just don't want to be knit.


So now I can work on this stole. This is the second project from The Year of Lace. I love this stole. The colour is gorgeous and the pattern is so ingenious. Joan Schrouder is my hero. If I had to describe her, I would call her a "Thinking Knitter" She has designed this stole in a way that will use most if not all the yarn, and it looks amazing. The relatively simple patterns are combined in a way to make one in which all the elements just fit.

But of course even though I had on shawl that I was working on and another that I wanted to work on, I had to cast on a pair of socks. Spring forward in STR.