Irtfa'a, still not on the wing.

As you may recall, I'm participating (and moderating but that's a different issue) in Seasons of Lace - Spring into Lace 2010.  That season ends on June 21.

The rules over there are that as long as you knit over 50% of a thing during the season, it qualifies for a raffle ticket in it's category if you finish it within the season.  Imagine my glee when I realized that Irtfa'a was at 48% according to the percentage calculator when this season began!

So... On Tuesday last, I started the edging.  Silly me, I was sure that with two whole weeks to go, I could whip out a little edging in that time frame.  After all, it's only an 8 row repeat, and at it's worst it's a whopping 18 stitches wide!

Tuesday night, what with one thing and another, I got one repeat done.  Not great, but I figured it out, and determined the bead placement for the thing (I'm using thirteen small (8/0) and three "large" (6/0) beads in each repeat.)

By the time I posted on Friday, I'd gotten to here:

Hmm, five repeats done.  That does not look like lightening speed to me. But then, I HAD been working on other things (Kitty's sweater, finishing a BJS, preparing for a Board meeting, etc.).  I continued in my delusion.

At the end of last night's knitting I'd gotten to here:

 

Ten repeats. 

I'm in deep trouble.

Here's why:

1) According to the pattern, there are 58 repeats of each side of the edging (the left side mirrors the right side).  That means that in the original, there are 116 repeats.  Ten repeats in three days doesn't get me there.

2) I've increased the length of the shawl.  That means that I've also increased the width.  Following math and logic, that means that there are actually more than 116 repeats to do.

3) This is the first pattern in ages where ten repeats hasn't burned the pattern in my brain well enough that I don't need to really look at the chart every row.  I am, thankfully, to the stage where I can look at the chart once per row... but I also keep screwing up because something in me refuses to believe that I really have to LOOK at the freakin' thing EVERY row.

So. If I'm going to finish this baby by June 21, I'm going to have to forsake all other activities for the week.

And take lots of Ibuprofen.

Somehow, I don't think that either my physical therapist or my orthopedist are going to find the need to finish a beaded edging to be a valid reason for re-scheduling their appointments.

Somehow, I'm pretty sure that Kitty will not find the need to finish this edging to be a valid reason for not taking her to school for the driver's ed safety course she starts on Monday (three weeks of that will supposedly prepare her for the behind the wheel part of the course).

Somehow, I'm equally sure that the folks who believe that we're hosting a party on the 19th won't understand that I couldn't prepare the food, or clean the kitchen, because I was too busy knitting a beaded edging.  I'm guessing they'll think that an edging to knit is not a valid reason to blow off the party itself either.

I wonder if I can devise something that will let me ice the shoulder and knit at the same time......

Do I need to sleep?

Comments

[Kim]

1. Sleep (can you ice simultaneously?)
2. Knit
3. Blow the party off. (Or serve take-out. In the dark.)

[Colleen G]

Well, what if you just changed the rules for seasons of lace? It seems to me that if you've been working diligently on a bit of lace, it should count for whatever season it gets finished in.
Cause, I'm pretty sure that if you try to not take the child to drivers ed, there's going to be rebellion in your house. Of course, you could make the driver's ed stuff contingent on having a clean kitchen for the party..but that would likely end in more tears.
Or maybe you could bribe the kidlet into doing the edging for you.
Either way, good luck

[Kym]

Flexibility is key! And. . . hey. . . good luck with that driver's training thing. . .