#shawlfails, some finished socks, and m!@#s

Despite my recent sweater success (so close to finishing my Evol!), I've had a couple of do-overs in the shawl category.  I ripped out the Kiiruna shawl I started this summer because alternating the skeins became an annoying burden, so annoying that I knew I wouldn't finish it.  Since the difference between the two dye lots of Linen Quill isn't that noticeable, I re-cast on with just one skein.  But that's on hold for now.

Our dear neighborhood Yiayia* requested a handknit linen or cotton shoulder warmer--a shawl with enough shaping to stay put as she goes about her busy days, unlike my favorite kinds that need all manner of fussing and adjusting.  I cast on the Palmyre for her in KnitPicks Lindy Chain held double, and...pffft.  It was not the right pattern for her.  At the point where I would have started the beautiful scalloped edges, I brought it over to her house for her to try it on.  The shawl didn't sit right at all on her shoulders.  She was kind and told me not to bother with ripping it out, but I knew that the shawl would be too finicky for her to enjoy wearing it.  It's currently looking like the beginnings of a raglan sweater, but I'm not sure how it will end. 

So, two #shawlfails.  Those lovely yarn cakes represent hours of work, now undone.

Maybe I should have led with the good news?  Instead I've sandwiched it between two downer bits.

Two pairs of socks have joined the others in my drawer.  The first is a pair in Tosh Merino Light leftovers, in the colors Well Water and Antique Lace.  It's not the best choice for hard-wearing socks, but I hope that using sturdy Malabrigo Sock (in Tiziano Red) for the cuffs, toes, and eye-of-partridge heels will offset the yarn's fragility.  The pattern is improvised, but inspired by Inge.  I tried something new with the toes, hoping to eliminate the strain that only two rows of decreases puts on the sock toe.  For these socks, the decreases happen much like they would in a hat, giving the toe a round shape rather than the traditional flattened wedge.

I'm wearing that second pair right now--isn't the start of wool-sock-weather grand?!  The pattern is Candy Floss Socks Pattern, available for free, made in House of A La Mode? fingering? sock? I can't remember. The color's name I do remember, though: La Luna.  The cuffs, heels, and toes are in Malabrigo Sock, leftovers from my mom's mittens.  I experimented with a new toe shape for this pair, too.   They're asymmetrical mirror images of one another.  It almost gave me a stroke, thinking through how to reverse the shaping, and I won't be attempting it again anytime soon!  I really like the fit, though.

When I was winding the third skein of yarn for my Evol sweater, the yarn broke several times--clean breaks that could only mean one thing.  I had pests cavorting in my yarn; there was even a live(!) one among my Shetland wool.  I stuffed every last skein into ziploc bags and loaded up our chest freezer to kill any remaining critters.  As I was cramming the hanks and skeins into the bags and squeezing out the air to conserve space, I kept repeating Matthew 6:19-21.  It was humbling to gather all of my yarn, not a large cache, but still so much more than I'm able to knit in a reasonable amount of time.  Lord, have mercy!  Once the freezer had finished its job, my skeins went back onto the same shelf, this time in unsightly plastic, a reminder to put my heavenly treasure first.

That's all for now, dear ones.  I'll share a bit more about our wild and crazy month** once it's over and I have more headspace for that kind of thing.  Knitting occupies just the tippy top bit of my brain--talking knits and yarn is my version of small talk.   

*Please keep her in your prayers!  Her health has declined dramatically over the past few months, which has been a tough adjustment for someone who is used to being very active.

**Also please keep my oldest two children in your prayers, if you would!  College applications and sports injuries have overshadowed their October.