An Almighty Mess

So I was quite happily knitting away on my shawl when this horrific mess occurred.



I naively thought that just hanging the hank over the back of a chair would be fine, but oh no. I have spent the last two days, yes, two whole days trying to unravel this mess. The bf was even sweet enough to offer to do some for me, but I think he would have made it even worse. And to add insult to injury, because the yarn is so fine, it's quite fragile, so keeps snapping. I now have several little balls which is annoying because that means I'm going to have knots in the shawl. Grrr. I think it's time I invested in a ball winder.

In better news, my mum came to visit last week and we made a trip to John Lewis (not that I need anymore yarn - my stash has grown at an astonishing rate over the past six months) to purchase the new Rowan magazine. No. 42 is better than I thought it would be. I wasn't too keen on the online preview pics I saw, but flicking through I've already seen quite a few designs I want to make. In fact, I've started a pair of grey stockings in Kid Classic. I've wanted a nice pair of grey stockings for ages so they'll be perfect for when it gets cold. Also, the pattern calls for bobbles (just little ones) which I haven't done before, always thinking them rather hideous, but these are little ones and in fact, rather cute. I'll take a pic tomorrow of my progress so far. I like to pick patterns which incorporate skills I haven't employed before. I'm a rather fearless knitter. I suppose that comes from being pretty much self-taught. (This is kind-of true. My mum showed me how to knit/purl/cast on/cast off when I was little, then I picked it up again when I was about 14/15 and taught myself how again.) The biggest skill I have yet to try is intarsia. I'd love to do a proper colourwork project. I have in mind these to start with, but I'd love to make a proper Fair Isle cardigan. Maybe next year.