No this is not about my supposed career as landscape designer. Nor is it about the wonderful rain we have heard on the roof for the first time in months!
It is about my knitting.
I seem to be in a fog of seniors moments lately. Many moons weeks ago I started knitting EZ's (Elizabeth Zimmermann's) wonderful Baby Surprise cardigan for my new cousin several times removed ( don't ask me to work it out! - He is my cousin's daughter's first baby, named Frederick)
Something seems to be seriously amiss as this simple piece of knitting - garter stitch all the way (knit every row, for the non knitters among you) is undermining my confidence.
First time I frogged it (rip it, rip it,....get it?) it was because I had decided it was so simple that I would use the opportunity to teach myself to knit "Continental Style". This involves pushing the wool round the needle with the left hand fingers instead of my usual right. I did this in the misguided belief that next time I do a Fair Isle pattern, which uses 2 colours in each row, I could try EZ's method of one colour in each hand. Sounds great, perhaps a little complicated for someone so mentally challenged as I, but a sound theory.
I duly picked up the method, but in my madness mixed it freely with my "old" style of knitting as well when it got just too hard. Result - many rows completed and me looking at a totally unevenly tensioned piece of cloth that even a new face washer knitter wouldn't have been proud of.
My slight touch of perfectionism kicked in and I gritted my teeth and took it to the pond.
Second time around determined to keep the tension even and ditch the new method. It would go much faster now wouldn't it?
Late night TV watching Owl that I am, I happily knitted like crazy through late episodes of Judge John Deed (which I love - I find it fascinating to watch Martin Shaw as an oldie - I can still see him in my mind as Doyle in The Professionals.) Is he really that old? That must mean that I am older than I think!!
I also ate up episodes of Jamie in Italy and my other favourite on UK TV - Relocation, Relocation - which gives me vicarious visits to country cottages, manor houses and converted barns in the beautiful English countryside.
What's all this got to do with knitting you may ask? Well one night recently I stopped knitting to look in smug satisfaction at what my flying fingers had wrought. Quell horreur!! Quell disaster!!!!!
Where there should have been lovely stripes going neatly round 45 degree angled corners there were 65 degree slopes and a possible 35 degrees, one end had too many stitches past the corner and one had too few. Surely when I had said to myself earlier that the corners looked a bit funny I should have stopped and listened to that small inner nag.
No - like Stephanie's friend who knitted a whole sweater too big because she refused to acknowledge that her gauge was off, I had merrily watched TV until my own project was beyond pretending that a bit of a squint would fix it!!
It took a day between the decision being made and the actual ripping, but I am now back on the straight and narrow, a somewhat chastened and a carefuller(?) knitter (who counts stitches now before any drastic action!)
I can't even show you a photo to prove any of this - I couldn't bear to snap anything so awful looking.
I take my hat off to my knitting buddy Gingernut, who sails through Baby Surprise jackets by the dozen to stock her market stall.
Here's to the end of this one and a photo to come!
PS. Do you like my new look page - I couldn't resist the watercolour background?