Saturday, September 22, 2007

Alright, alright, I know when I am whooped.

I may be a lot of things, but I am not too proud to admit when I have been defeated.

The Montego Bay Scarf was not my first adventure in lace knitting and it was not my first failure either. But it is going to be my last, by gawd

It has become abundantly clear to me that I do not have the skills, the intelligence, the patience, or the emotional stability to knit lace. That's fine, I have accepted that and made my peace with it. I'm OK. But never, ever in a million years, not even to save my own life will I ever attempt to knit lace again.

If you are ever around me and hear me say that I am thinking about knitting lace I want you to crack me in the kneecap with a ball-peen hammer. That would be far less painful.


Here is what the Montego Bay Scarf looks like right now:

Piece of crap.

12 comments:

Kristina B said...

:-( Sorry about the mishap...

sigh. Can an LYS help you defankle it?

Marianne said...

What kind of needles are those?
I seriously hate the thought of you giving up on lace..forever.. do you have any idea how long that is?
What happened?

Marianne said...

Oh, I can see them now, they're metal needles and I'm betting that seasilk just slipped and slid all over those babies, eh?

Hobbygåsa said...

Oh that is a pitty!! But you can not give up! Think of the beautiful scarf this mess can be transformed into.. My boss once told me; there are really never problems, only challanges... Let it be for a while and try again later, and maby you can ask someone that have knitted with Lace why you had problems? Have a nice Sunday!

Eric & Tony said...

Well, I agree with Marianne that Forever is a Long time.

At least you still have that luscious yarn.

The Quiltarian said...

OK, what are you going to do with that wonderful seasilk if you quit knitting lace?
I agree with Marianne that wood or even bamboo needles would probably work a lot better.

Hobbygåsa said...

Knit - you are a genius! Why did I not think of that? YES! I have earned an "S"!!! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I'm sorry the lace isn't working out for you. I agree, forever is a very long time. Hoping you'll give it another shot... maybe not right away but eventually.

I won't be able to make it to the library tomorrow. I have a required meeting that night. I'll try to make it to the next one.

Anonymous said...

Oy, I'm very, very sorry! I know that knitting lace can be a pain in the back - it took me extremely long to get used to it and into it when I first started! But you know - there's so many beautiful patterns out there without lace - why bother?!

Anonymous said...

Don't give up forever! Maybe just a little break. I agree with the others that you should try some bamboo or wood needles.

Jaye said...

DON'T
YOU
DARE
GIVE
UP!

I swear, I'll hunt you down and beat you with your seasilk - real threatening, right?

We're going to work this out. Maybe we'll even do it together. I have a scarf kit that is beautiful. It's 50/50 silk/wool and even though I don't expect it to be sliding all over the place I have a set of wood needles at the ready.

To be honest with you, the needles you used here look like Susan Bates to me, yes? And while I love Bates crochet hooks, I hate the Bates needles. When I first tried learning I was using crappy Boye needles and OMG! it was such an ordeal. I almost stabbed everyone in the household including myself. I literally threw the needles, book and yarn away and didn't pick up learning to knit again for an entire year. When I tried again I was doing the same thing all over again and realized that it was those darned needles so I switched to bamboo needles and BAM! the stitches started flowing. I know that was a beginner thing because I can knit with some aluminum or nickle-plated needles now, depending on the yarn type. But it all depends on how slick the yarn is as far as what needles seem to work best (for me).

Don't give up on the lace or the yarn! It's too beautiful and I know you have it in you...you can do it!


/end novel

Kristina B said...

Amy - I had another thought. If it's within your budget, you might consider getting some Addi Lace Turbos for the scarf: they cost about $22.00 up here but to my view are worth it. The tips are pointy, making it far easier to do all the fiddly little stitches.

Here is a review of them on Sivia Harding's blog:

Addi Lace.