I had thought about calling it The Galloping horse.  You know, the one from which if you can’t see the mistake in your knitting, it’s fine?  But I’m not as enamored of that as i was when it occurred to me :)

Finally, finally, I seem to have gotten past the knit-a few-rows-and-rip-‘em-out stage.  Enough progress had been made, in fact, that I bound it off last night.  However, when I spread it out this morning, I could see that the design wasn’t balanced and that the last stage (doesn’t that sound all complex and knitterly?) needed several more repeats in order for the whole thing to look right.

I started with alternate columns of Razor shell and Horseshoe lace and then converted the razor shells into horseshoe lace so that the bottom of the piece was Horseshoe lace all the way across.  But I hadn’t done enough repeats for it to look right taken with the alternate patterns of the rest of the shawl.

So this morning it went back on the needles - and I didn’t mess anything up, may miracles never cease!.  This means two things:

1. The shawl is going to be bigger than I had initially imagined.  This isn’t a problem; I have plenty of yarn and certainly do not mind a larger piece.  I was never set, heart and soul, on a shoulder shawl.  I just thought it was something I should try.

2.  Because the shawl is going to require more yarn, the possible matching socks are a no go.  This also isn’t a problem because I was never entirely sold on green socks :)  Also, I would have felt compelled to make the sock’s stitch pattern(s) match the shawl’s and I have no idea how I would go about that.  Well, the real truth is more like I don’t want to bother with figuring it out - and now I don’t have to!

Dad’s problem was, apparently an ulcer.  It seems to be the feeling of his doctor that this was brought about by ibuprophen on his always chancy stomach.  In addition, there was a urinary tract infection and God knows how long that had been in residence.  I believe both those issues have been resolved but I’m bringing him to the doctor’s tomorrow morning and we shall see what happens.

I have been dropping by as often as I dare because he is tired and weak - he lost a great deal of weight and, for the first time, looks frail to me.  He, of course, insists that he’s fine and getting better every day and doesn’t need me to baby-sit.  I’ll be more comfortable with that assessment when he eats more than half a piece of toast and a banana a day.  Well, to be fair, he did eat a whole bowl of soup on Saturday.

A former co-worker sent me a whole box of yarn as she has been, over the last several years, more into quilting than knitting.  It is all acrylic, some of it quite nice.  I had hoped that, after the blanket project earlier this year, I had worked up most of my acrylics - but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have some on hand for last minute things.

I keep trying to think about new projects - the shawl isn’t going to last that much longer :)  But I seem to be pretty focused on that for now and find that when I have my knitting groove on, it’s that I want to be knitting.

I wonder if it’s the lace getting to me?  Heheh…