All's Well that Ends Well

I have started three new projects since I finished the last batch (Fleurette Cardigan, February Lady and the quasi Cobweb Crepe). My favorite of the three new ones is the Pine Tree Palatine Scarf, pictured at left by Galina Khmeleva. Some time ago I knit one of her triangular shawls after attending a workshop with Galina. This is the bottom border. I've gone a bit beyond this, but not much. It now lives on a dining room chair and I pass by once in a while and knit a few rows. It's very relaxing.

Here's the beginning of the Side to Side Pullover by Katy Ryan (IK Spring 2004). If you say this looks easy, you'd be right. Falling asleep easy, I'd say. I must have drifted off, because after knitting one sleeve and getting 4 inches into the body, I suddenly realized I had nine stitches extra on the front. Or the back - they're identical! That's about two inches extra on one side - won't do, can't hide it.

This is a dreadful project for me. First there's the boring nature of the plain knitting - garter stitch sleeves and plain stocking stitch across the front and back. Second, I have to say that I'm not crazy about knitting with ribbon. I keep worrying that it is getting twisted up too much. In Babara's Abbey's The Complete Book of Knitting, she has a section on knitting with ribbon that talks about always keeping the effing ribbon flat. I'm pretty sure that modern ribbon knitters don't even consider keeping it flat. If they do, then this thing will never get done. Third, the needles are much larger than what I usually knit with - it feels like knitting with sausages even though they're really not that big (US 10 / 6.0 mm). Also, I'm obligated to do it because I bartered the knitting for a pair of pants. OKAY, they're silk pants (stop laughing you Brits, you know what i mean!) and they fit well which saves me from having to go shopping, no small thing as far as I'm concerned. And now, to add insult to injury, I have to frog back four inches of a really wide piece and redo it. Anyone else would whip through this, but I'm making it into a mountain. How spoiled am I?

Before I came to my senses and decided to frog it, I slipped the nine offending stitches off the needle and unravelled them. I wanted to see if I could maybe just cut the loops (see at left) and weave in the ends. It is possible, but I decided that I'd be wasting a lot of the ribbon that way and what if I run out? Anyway, this is how it looks. I'll knit this in the car, I think.

I can't talk about the third project yet since it's a present, but it it's a very nice present.

What else can I say? There has been a wasp's nest. Some people were stung mildly getting rid of it and a Lilac branch was lost.

The daisies are finished and the Day Lilies are coming to an end too but the Dahlias are coming out. This is somewhat exciting as I have eleven of them and I only ever had one in the past.

The rhubarb is going strong. Now someone told me that you're only supposed to eat it in the Spring, that it's like watermelon and if you eat it after a certain date, then you're introducing pollen into your system. Sounds crazy. I'm eating it anyway.

Tomatoes and cucumbers are very delicious and much appreciated.

Lastly, I'm very happy that Nadia, who was pretty much incommunicado for a couple of months is back at home and having long chats with her mother. She painted a ton of sets in Stratford, all Shakespeare of course. Nothing doing in Montreal apparently. All's well that ends well.