Knitting in the Shadows

On an Knitting Diet and Hating It

People who have to wear wrist braces and eat ibuprophen to keep pain at bay ought not knit.
Much.
They ought to avoid unnecessary keyboarding actions, and shun the mouse.
Really.
At least for a day or so...
The wrist brace has resumed it's control of my right hand.  It stays there all day... all night..(very sexy to sleep in, I'm sure).  It joined the required wardrobe on Sunday evening.

Monday, in addition to the wrist pain that summoned Mr. Brace, I also had some bizarre stiffness in my left shoulder.  Hmph.  I was not as good about avoiding the keyboard and mouse as I should have been, but I actually managed to shun the needles until about 9:30 p.m.  But how am I supposed to watch a movie without knitting?

I snuck in a bit more time with Socks de Mer.

Aren't they just lovely?  I'm really ticked that my wrist is telling me to avoid size 0 needles.  (DH doesn't like it much either, as his socks are also on 0's). I'm loving these socks, and enjoying even more the fun of test knitting (conversations with the designer are always fun).

Tuesday, Mr. Brace was still with me.  My shoulder was a bit better, but the wrist is dictating all sorts of rules.  No Yoga that includes Down Dog.  (I mean c'mon... how do you do a whole yoga routine without at least ONE Down Dog??)  Drastically reduced Knitting and keyboarding...
I managed to elude the needles until about 2:00 when I met a friend at the library to knit (and teach her the fine art of decreasing for her first ever knit hat).  I went with hope alive, and a tad more sanity:  I took Mystic Light to give her a few extra rows.

There's no hiding from the truth.  This yarn is gorgeous.

It's wasted on this pattern, and this pattern is wasted on this yarn.
Today.... it goes to the frog pond.  If I don't find an alternative yarn, I'll find a new project for Knitting with Nora by Monday.

snif.

My brace and I are going to go read a good book now.   Tonight is Bad TV night.  How will I survive  Next Generation without  knitting???   Looks like it's a Deep Breath night (lovely big needles).  ((lovely big needles???? when did anyone think that phrase would escape my lips.  shudder))

Mondays are for KAL posts... Mystic Light Arrives

Monday has been my KAL reporting day for quite a while.  With Mermaid's emergence from WIP status, I was bereft... until I decided to start Knitting With Nora the cute button on the side bar that looks like this has the link).

Thus, Mondays will be Nora Days for awhile.  And just to keep it interesting, I decided to start with another KAL -- the Mystic Light Mystery Shawl.  I'd link to the Yahoo Group, but the sign ups closed two clues ago, so it would only frustrate you.

This is a not-too-simple triangle shawl with a nifty difference. Instead of the usual yo, k1, yo center line, this one has a six stitch cable running up the middle balanced by 4 st cables on the edges.  I might have made the side cables 6 stitches as well... but frankly, I'm okay with having rest rows somewhere.

On Sunday, I wound some yummy yarn (Great Adirondacks Serino (Ravelry link) that I bought last year at Yarn Garden).  I decided that it would be perfect for Mystic Light.  I loved this yarn in the hank.  It reminded me of the Aurora Borealis.... deep blue and purple with flashes of green, yellow, pink ... that somehow worked just right.

I was sure I had a picture, so didn't take one.  Now that I've wound it, I can't find one of the yarn in the hank.  The cake leaves an entirely different impression, so I was skeptical, but cast on anyway, hoping that what I saw in the hank would come through.

So anyway.... this picture gives you a bit of what I hoped to see, but I fear that the cables and lace will be lost in the end.

Here is a shot of the wee bit I've finished so far.

In the hank, it looked like the blue and purple would strongly predominate (like the midnight sky before which the aurora dances).  I'm likely to keep it up for a bit longer.... hope springs eternal, and I'm loving knitting with this yarn... the softness of the merino silk, the lovely big needles (4.5 mm after what seems like an eternity on 2.0 mm).... ahhh.

What do you think?  Will this yarn just be too busy for the lace and cables?  Should I keep going a bit further to see if it balances out?  Am I deluding myself ... and should I thus frog it immediately before I risk hurting something?

And which classes should I take at Stitches??? I've changed my mind so many times now, I don't know what I look like (quick, what tune is THAT a take off on?)