Mid-June KAL (Knit Along) Day 2

Can anyone else see the *unicorns* in this????






Well, this KAL has given me a lot of mixed emotions and raised a lot of questions. BTW, I did a garter stitch border. Janet said the Moss Stitch border was optional and you could do whatever you wanted. I like the way the Moss Stitch looks, but I really don't like creating it. It seems like these days, I have a kind of aversion to Ribbing/Moss Stitches.

I got all the way to Row 13 and had to take it out. I forgot the Lifeline, and anyway, it is too tedious and difficult to undo these rows.

I took the whole thing out. And put it away. And turned to something else. And wasn't at all sure I was even going to do it again. I have so many interesting projects on my needles, and waiting in the wings.

I didn't *like* doing this pattern. I *like* working with the Log Cabin, and knitting on the Oasis Square and the Gemstone Shawl. I am still working on the "L" in my niece's name. I have loads to do. That's not to mention all the paperwork, in addition to the Taxes that *did* get done on Friday, thanks to all of your prayers and encouragement.

Okay, so after an hour or so, I went back to it. I started over, and I thought about how this is going to please my mother so much -- it will go into one of the B&B houses my mother and I have -- color scheme in the kitchen is blue. So that has helped me to get through it.

These pictures are at the END of Day 2. YEA ME! I ended up with 37 stitches all the way through -- I had to count them on *each* row to be sure.

I am sure that I didn't always get the P2tog-b or the SSK properly, but I am *not* going to change it.

I love the way it is turning out, and am in awe of Janet being able to come up with this lovely pattern. What I am going to say, and ask, isn't about that at all, it is about me, and my reaction to it.

I really struggled with it, and not only because the pattern was so difficult. It was tedious, and it took me about FOUR HOURS to get those 20 rows done! Normally, I can do a picture dishcloth in just over 2 hours. That's a big difference, because this is not even half-way through, although I assume, the last 10 rows will be border, so this makes the lace section about half-way.

The struggle I am having is feeling that this lacework wasn't FUN -- it was darn HARD WORK! It wasn't play, like the log cabin. It didn't even feel that "creative" -- because I was just slavishly following directions. I have yet to find the *relaxation* in knitting this pattern.

As beautiful as it is, for the amount of *work* that is involved, and the necessity to really *concentrate* on it -- I couldn't even put any music on -- it is hard for me to wonder, is it worth it?

Obviously, a *huge* number of knitters, in this group and all across the Internet are "hooked" on Lace work, knit or crocheted. And it is truly lovely. But I think of all the lace shawls I have seen. I keep looking for simple, prayer-friendly :) knitting projects, and shawls potentially are, except that all the current ones are so *complicated*. Practically all of them are lace these days -- I guess it's been discovered that besides being beautiful, they provide a challenge and keep a shawl from getting so boring.

But with only this partial dishcloth for experience, I frankly can't imagine knitting a lacework shawl on tiny needles, with lace weight yarn, with even more intricate patterns. For so many reasons. But one of them is -- no one who is not another lace knitter, would *ever* be able to appreciate the work that goes into it! When I give her this dishcloth, my Mom will be pleased, and she crochets and will recognize that this was an intricate pattern and that the results are beautiful, but she won't even *begin* to recognize how much *work* it actually was!

I am disappointed and frustrated with *myself* in having such a negative reaction. I was, along with everyone else -- *so* looking forward to this mid-month KAL. I had done pictures before joining the group, so the Unicorn was a familiar type of pattern. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I also really could hardly wait to start a mid-month KAL that I knew would be some other kind of pattern -- possibly something new, that I had never done, but I was hoping/expecting that there would be a lot of help, and that a big part of the fun of it would be working on it *together*.
The "together" part has been very interesting and helpful. I didn't start as quickly as some, and so was lucky enough to get the Revision before I started. Also, I took advantage of a lot of the questions and difficulties that other people had -- like how to do the SSK.

I could *not* have finished Day 2 without the *alternative* way of doing the P2tog-b that Janet gave. I absolutely *could* not figure out how to do the first/traditional way, but I had no trouble doing the alternative, except that I think the first couple of times I slipped the stitches the wrong way. I think I corrected each one, but am not sure... I think I have the hang of the alternative now, and maybe someday I will make a point to practice doing the traditional way.

If you are one of those people who started a lace knitting project and got hooked and are addicted, and can never wait to start your next lace project -- please share with me what it is about making lace that attracts you? If you can put it in words? Please -- I *want* to like it. I am trying to keep an open mind. I am planning to finish this dishcloth and maybe by the end, I will have gotten hooked on it, too.

One of the biggest things for me is simply how *beautiful* it is. I love its beauty .... That goes a long, long way for me, but does it go far enough? I am not sure at this point...