Old and New

I've finished the latest Forest Canopy shawl, but it isn't blocked yet so it's really not worth taking another snap.

Having grumbled about the rib on the Wrap Top, I picked up the Red Sandstone Jacket again and almost emitted little squeaks of joy while I galloped along the rows with the lovely rosewood needles.


I've done both sleeves and am tearing across the left front now. I discovered that I had done the wrong stitch on the cuffs - I thought double moss stitch was two stitches by two rows, but it's one stitch by two rows. It would have been too much trouble to read the pattern I suppose. I'm doing the right stitch now and I don't suppose it'll make any difference. I used to be a perfectionist, but nowadays, not so much. The Jet is lovely (30% alpaca, mmmm) and I'm surprised by how much I continue to enjoy the colours. I'm not a pink girl, but I love this.

I also knitted a pair of fingerless mitts which I sort of made up and am not entirely sure about, but I left them in my weekend bag in the boot of my niece's car, so you can't see them and give me an opinion until next weekend. I also left most of my make-up in the same place so I'm going to be pale and blobby this week.

I think I've pretty well decided to rip the Wrap Top and re-dedicate the yarn. I'm not enjoying knitting it and on examination I don't think I'll wear it much so there's really no point.


I'll make a simple relaxed sweater, maybe even just knit Navigator again, which was the basis for my Distressed Sweater with the rips in it, which I still love and wear quite a lot. I could knit bigger rips this time. I don't have quite enough yarn but I can probably get more, or add in a few stripes. God knows I have plenty of All Seasons Cotton in different shades.

A couple of babies have just appeared on the horizon, in that way that they do. One is due around February and the other is a bit vague because my source of information is a male (not the father) who seems uncertain about the whole process. So I think that will mean some more Pinwheel Shawls. Jet would make a lovely baby shawl, come to think of it, if the mothers know not to put wool in a hot wash.

Thank you for the compliments about the Golden Gail shawl. Yes, I think it's Portuguese on the blog, Shandy. The pattern is just called Gail, and is available here on Ravelry. It's available in English and Dutch. It is well worth checking Ravelry as a lot of Ravellers have given very useful tips about the charts: I think I would have given up (again; I did give up once) without them. I made a mistake and did the whole chart for each repeat instead of the rows you're meant to do, but it worked out fine. That's why my last repeat is different from the others, because I did it properly to fit in with the edge chart. But none of you noticed, did you? Or maybe you were too polite to say.

And thanks very much for the suggestion about Gaia, Mary Lou. At first I thought I wasn't keen, but when I looked at the others I began to see the atttraction. Maybe when the excitement of tearing along with Jet on 5.5mm needles is wearing off, I'll have a go at that.