Shawl stuff revisitedAt last report, my somewhat unconventional shetland shawl was being test blocked to see if it would yield the growth factor I was hoping for. It didn't.A moment's reflection makes it obvious why -- the original version had decreases and yarn overs on both the right and wrong sides with no "rest" row of garter to stablise and constrain the fabric. Therefore, the original version blocked out much larger than the more traditional second version. After consulting with my old friend Pythagoras and his theory, I realised I was once again going to have to make an adjustment. The basic choices were stay with the chart I was working (and let me add I was at row 109 of 275) and increase my edgings to make up the difference or rechart and reconsider the design of the central square. Another way of phrasing the choices were easy & hard. Naturally, I chose the harder of the two. Quite a bit of gnashing of teeth, fighting with spreadsheets and grumbling from spouse, the new chart was created. I found that the newly charted design could incorporate a number of elements I couldn't quite make work in the existing and that I only needed to lose about 10 rows -- fewer if I wanted to forego the newly added nested diamonds. So that's how things stood on the Tuesday. Wednesday 21 July 1999 found me aware of what I needed to do to the shawl but loathe to frog. I spent the day in what we call a knowledge transfer where developing engineers explain new products and features to field engineers and support personnel. This particular session was pretty brutal and threatened to run very, very long. I typically knit during these sessions but nothing too complex as you can find yourself fielding a question and losing your place. Having figured out the problem with the point edging pattern row 9, I worked on that. Destined to become a garter for a friend's wedding, it took priority over my shawl. |
Back | Continue |