Rhinebeckons

Yes, the preparations are well underway for the annual fiber orgy.

Rhinebeck Blogger BINGO
Check out this clever little enterprise by Stitchy McYarnPants.



I will be participating as a "square," in case anyone gets me on their card.

Current Knitting
I have knit and un-knit the same five rows about 10 times now.

I guess the more you un-knit, the better you get at it. I am getting much better at it. With about 7 steps forward and 5 steps back, I have made a little bit of progress on the Celestine Shawl.



This is 160 rows of knitting, and you can see a safety line woven through at my nemesis, row 122.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Regarding my spinning, Ted offers, "Nice top. I'll be interested in seeing your resulting 3-ply yarn. You'll have it done...when? End of the week?"

Not highly likely. It will take about three weeks of spinning for each bobbin-full of singles. The plying and washing and hanging doesn't take very long, perhaps another week. So all-in-all, it will be done a couple of weeks after Rhinebeck.

Regarding my opening graphic from my last post, Diane asks, "I like your YinYang. Is it copyrighted? Can I steal it?"

Are you supposed to ask before lifting and editing someone else's graphic? I'll have to ask Carol S.

Katrina asks, "Do you ever use lifelines when knitting lace?"

I started using what I call a safety line about 15 years ago when I was working with some delicate silk and wool yarn and an extremely complex stitch pattern that couldn't be un-knitted. I recommended it to the KnitList way back when. I doubt I was the first person to ever come up with such an idea, but my original suggestion has come back to me a number of times over the years.

Sean ask, "...have you heard Bette's version of "In These Shoes"?"

Yes, and while I love Bette, I don't find it anywhere near as good as Kirsty McColl's version.

Franklin lays claim with, "I'm sorry, but I've already claimed "In These Shoes" for MY hypothecial drag debut as Mademoiselle Folie de Grandeur."

I did mention I know all the backup Spanish lip-synching as well, and I could help you with your choreography. That last crescendo in the song could be a tricky "bend and snap" maneuver. And gawd knows, someone will need to help you with your depilatory work.

Finally, Reader Sally asks via e-mail, "I'm curious - have you ever read anywhere a comparison between doing the e-wrap cast on and the provisional cast on? I've been using the e-wrap for any project where I have to pick up the stitches again, and can't tell the difference between that and unravelling provisional waste yarn. Given the time it can save on large projects (and the fact that knitting something I'm going to rip out drives me nuts), why don't more people use it?"

It never occurred to me that the two methods for casting on and then picking up stitches result in the same thing. I learned provisional casting on when I was doing some machine knitting, and just translated that to projects like the stole I'm making.

There are two reasons I would continue doing a provisional cast-on,

1. Because my e-wrap cast-on isn't very even
2. I like to have a little bit of fabric already started when I start using my "good" yarn.