progress, progress, frustration story....

Well, I'm making progress. Yesterday, I cleared off almost all of a book shelf, packed up the stuff in boxes.... I want to clean our carpet. And move a few things around.... I own two of these big bookcase things, and keep my cat stuff on them.... among other decorations. We had to move one of them to fit our "new" couch in - the couch that we paid a whole five dollars for at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.... The colour is perfect for our living room.... if you scroll down - the critters are sleeping on it... Anyway, that was bought last summer, and I've been suffering through the winter with half my kitty stuff in boxes, (ok, not half of the grand total, but a whole shelving unit full) and it is high time I cleared the other shelves so I could move them over to put the second shelf unit beside it.... And since I'm going to that much trouble, I might as well move it right out of the way, and clean the carpet before rearranging everything.

So....

Anyway, this morning, I finally got around to blocking the Mystery Shawl 2. I put pictures in my photo album site, but could share here, too....

The sponge stuff I block it on wants to go back into a roll, that's why it's all curvy. But the shawl will be nice and flat when it is done.... and huge!!! The sponge is four feet wide....so the shawl is about four feet top to bottom.... don't know the across measurement.....

Progress on the Pi - it is OFF THE NEEDLES!!!! Wuhooo..... Needs to be blocked, if it will fit on the sponge after the MS3 is done.... Here it is, being modeled by Mis Mica:

Funny how cats know just which colours set them off.... Mica loves lounging on anything red, while Lady Ashleigh prefers blue.... Ashleigh being the little grey one....

Ok, now for the frustration - or should I do the dishcloths? Well, the frustration is more important - I can always post the dishcloths later.... I mean, I've taken the pic, so I can knit on them "safely"....

Frustration, you ask? Well..... Back in February, I was browsing at what is for many reasons my favourite LYS (local yarn shop) - Ram Wools. Ok, I was more than browsing - but I was browsing through the sock yarns, trying to decide..... I saw this neat coloured sock yarn, pricier than I am accostomed to....But, it *was* a pretty colour, and it *was* a bigger ball, that I could make a whole pair of socks from.... I ended up buying two of them - two different colours. The current April-May sock for the Six Sox Knitalong group suggested a nice "spring" colour sock yarn - I thought, Oh, Perfect, I know just the stuff.....

I dug the end out of the middle of the ball.... or should I say, I tried to dig the end out of the middle..... Ok, so I ended up with a chunk of "yarn barf". Ok, nothing new, no big deal, tease apart the lump to get the end.... I teased, I tugged, I rewound, I unwound, I untied.... I fought with this yarn for FOUR hours. FOUR. Yes, F O U R. From 8 pm Sunday - thinking, oh, good, the time change etc, I could get in the ribbing before bed.... Until MIDNIGHT. FOUR HOURS. I didn't get any ribbing done. I didn't get any casting on. I didn't do anything except get angrier and more frustrated with this yarn. I had to keep teasing and tugging and untieing - and at one point, I thought I'd heard a "snap" - but didn't find the break. Until the next morning, when I saw a small wad of "yarn barf" on the couch where I'd been sitting - I undid that bit and tied it on.... At this point, I wasn't giving up any of it.... Anyway - I fired off an email to the manufacturer on Monday, telling them what I thought of this garbage. I can't return it - between the condition of it, and the time factor, and who would bother to save the reciept anyway???? I won't throw it in the garbage, because I just can NOT affod to do that. But I will NEVER buy this company's products again, and I will tell anyone who asks my opinion of "_______" exactly what I think of it - don't waste your money.

In this picture, I've captured one of those lint ball thingies- don't know if they have an "official" name or not, but this yarn is so full of those - and they are the trouble makers when it comes to tangles and knots.... I'm sure that many of you who've knitted or crocheted or done anything with yarn have experienced them at some point in your life - I have, but never to this extent (at least one every few yards.... They can be slid off the end (you should have seen the pile on Sunday night after FOUR hours of detangling) or carefully cut out, which this one will be....

But, I will confess, it still is a pretty colour. And the pattern - well, if you haven't already been tempted to join the 6 sox group before, this pattern should do it!!! Very pretty, looks complex but is easy to memorize - I did this much in a very short sitting last night! I'll be taking it to my knit group meeting tonight to work on. That is how easy it is - one you can do while chatting.... (Hint: there is a button on the right hand side for the sock group!)

Ok, I'm going to try adding the picture of the dishcloths - the mid March knit along dishcloth, and the April knit along dishcloth, both on the same stitch holder :) March is up to day 7 (my knitting, that is) and the April is day one.... Yesterday, after clue four, people were saying it looked like it was going to be a watering can... Why am I suddenly nervous about going further? LOL.....

Oh, btw.... the colour for the april one is called "Ivory" - a lovely cream colour - I love it....and I see that I've only got day 6 of the blue mid march one....

FOUR HOURS!!!!!!