Sunday, October 18, 2009

The End of the Affair

My relationship with Henry has been brief and intense. My admiration is undiminished, but I've decided it's all just too hard; too high maintenance.

Yesterday I pulled out the knitting I'd done and started again because I knew I'd regret the mistake I'd made. But the crunch came this morning when I spent the whole morning knitting a row (452 stitches), realising I had one too many stitches, trying to identify where I'd gone wrong, counting stitches, counting them again, pulling out the row (452 stitches), knitting again, still having the wrong number of stitches, trying to identify from the almost invisible sequence of the pattern where I might have gone wrong, counting stitches, counting again, etc etc.

I feel cowardly in giving up so quickly, but I have other yarn dalliances I want to indulge, and Henry is just taking up too much time. So, Henry has been reassigned to the list of things I plan to do when I have more free time in my life and (hopefully) have more capacity for painstaking tasks. I know I'm not the first to abandon Henry, and I think that makes me feel a little better, but I do hate relinquishing something I admire so much.

So, I'm in the market for a pattern for a man's scarf - not kerchief style - preferably from 4 ply yarn. Suggestions gratefully received.

RoseRed has already blogged about yesterday's most successful stash reallocation. Lots of interesting yarns for reallocation:

Stash reallocation

I think I came home with about the same amount of yarn and money I had at the beginning of the afternoon - but some of the yarn is different. Great fun.

Thanks to the ever-generous MissFee for hosting the afternoon (and for 'baggsing' for me some lovely grey laceweight yarn). There was lots of relaxing knitting and eating and chatting.

MissFee's recent shawl flu affliction was in evidence:

Fee's shawls

The silver-grey Swallowtail shawl in very fine silk laceweight is my favourite, but Big Ted's preferences were other small shawls in shades of red. I think red suits him.

6 comments:

missfee said...

thanks lyn - and better to stop now than get further in with Henry and rip - your courage is worth celebrating!!! (and I am having a glass for you now)

Rose Red said...

Henry - OH NOES! I think you persevered quite long enough, I'm pretty sure I would have thrown it in the corner after mucking up the first time.

Hmmm, men's scarves...I made the Interlocking Balloons scarf for husby - I think it's nice (of course I'm biased!). I used Zara, but 4ply would just make it narrower, that's all! Actually Scarf Style has a lot of good men's scarves I think.

Oh, and red is definitely Big Ted's colour!!

Yarna said...

As in knitting, so inlife! Sometimes it's better to admit defeat and move on! I've made His (Birthday) Scarf twice now and both were well received.

Anonymous said...

y, that sounds like my affair with Henry too... he's obviously a serial heartbreaker.
Never mind, there is life (and even 4-ply scarves) after Henry.

(PS - is that the REAL Big Ted or his body-double?)

Sel and Poivre said...

Parting ways with Henry is a wise choice indeed! I'm impressed with how swiftly you made up your mind and acted!

DrK said...

so sorry to hear about henry. if it helps, im doing some serious ripping of my own today.....sigh