Thursday, March 06, 2008

What have I done to anger the knitting gods?

URGH! You know, I just wanted a simple project, easy-peasy, for work and when I couldn't deal with the complicated lace. So, I started the Chevalier Mittens, which are lovely and almost still seasonal if I can finish them quickly. I cast on last weekend and brought them into work with me to knit at lunch, and I was moving along, slowly (due to the tight gauge around the cables) but surely.

Then yesterday at lunch I took a look at them and thought, "You know, something doesn't look right here." Can't see it? Look on the upper right. Here's a close-up:

I'm not sure what went wrong here, really, but Rachel diagnosed that my cables weren't traveling (hence the stacking on the right, where it looks like a real cable cross instead of a chevron like the left side and the section underneath). I'm not sure how I messed this up - surely I can read a narrow chart? I suspect I just didn't knit two before starting the cables on one row, but now I have to rip it back, and I'm really not looking forward to that because of the exceedingly tight gauge. But, I have small needles with me to make it easier and will proceed accordingly. If all else fails I can just start over, it didn't take me very long to get to where I am...But, this is frustrating because I just want something simple to work on, you know? I haven't even attempted to fix the lace hat...

Dave and I watched Into the Wild last night, and I would really recommend it. The book is great, but the movie has better scenery. I find the protagonist to be a very selfish character, mainly as regards to how he treats his family, but he has many redeeming qualities and by the end you're with him, at least sort of. By that I mean you can empathize with him, but you're probably not going to think twice about going into the wilds of Alaska and camping in an abandoned bus. Now Dave has flown off to visit his grandmother in Florida (lucky) so I have the house to myself for the weekend. I intend to watch as much Jane Austen as I can find time for and maybe to eat some chicken. I might also go skiing. And some work will be done, I suppose...

3 comments:

Rachel said...

jealous of your private weekend!

Anne-Marie said...

Sounds like a great weekend!
What yarn are you using for the mittens? It's hard to tell what the color is from the picture. Is it ivory?

Sounds like you need some mindless garter or stockinette stitch...

Anonymous said...

Emily, I love the color of the mittens. I agree with your assessment of the movie. It was on last night when you called and I really don't want to go back and watch what I missed. Of course, I know what I missed because I only recently read the book. He made too many selfish choices and took stupid risks, to what end? I cannot believe the popularity of Jane Austen. Years ago, mention reading one of her books and most students/people groaned. Now? Her books are hot. Go figure. love, mom