Frustrated.....

It seems like ages and ages and ages until the olympics start! I am still knitting my tangled yoke, and am drooling at the thought of casting on in some lovely bright coloured yarn and knitting some lace.

There are going to be those mesemerising moments when the yarn colour changes and you get to see how it lines up with the previous row, the flutter scarf is going to have a nice simple easy to follow lace pattern. I have really high hopes for it looking very good indeed in a variagated yarn - not something I normally chose for lace. But this pattern has fairly large blocks of stocking stitch broken up by lace, so there is some nice lacy openness, but enough solid inbetween to make the most of the divine posh yarn eva.

I am so exited about the thought of starting, but as it is a ravelympics challenge am waiting (not very patiently) until the start of the olympic games, to join in what hopes to be the largest mass cast on ever! I have wound two skiens of yarn, which will be more than enough, and they are just sitting there taunting me.

On the subject of the tangled yoke, I have finished my 4" of plain stocking stitch, and am tackling the cabled yoke. I had an absoloute nightmare getting the set up row right. Aparantly, though I have a degree in engineering, 10 years experience of designing foundations and doing sums, 2 A-levels in Maths and grade 8 cello, I am incapable of counting to 10 reliably 24 times. What a dunce.

After 3 attempts at getting the startup row right, with frogging and much counting of stitches inbetween (given my lack of ability in the counting to 10 department, it wasn't entirely surprising that my counting to 276 didn't fare any better), I gave in. I tore up lots of bits of scrap yarn, and put in a marker for every pattern repeat along the row. I then counted, got my husband to check my counting, put the jumper down in disgust, adjusted the markers one last time and then went to bed. The next morning I managed to achieve in 20 minutes, what had taken all of my Saturday afternoon.

I thoroughly recommend the use of stitch markers made of yarn, for where you have to do odd things every 10 stitches with nothing to follow. I didn't realise quite how much of my memorising of a lace pattern involves identifying the correct stitch on the row below and matching the pattern.

Once the cabling was established it was easy to follow the right side rows, but much harder to follow the increases which are done on the wrong side rows. I left the stitch markers in and they were invaluable. I have one more very busy row to go and then it is definatly downhill towards the finishing line! There is only a little bit more yoke to go and then button bands and buttons.

Thouh the ravelympics is restricting my casting on, it has meant that there is going to be no dithering at all over what knitting to take with me on holiday - I have 2 projects that I am on a mission to finish. I hope to have lots of fun lovely finished things to show you all when I get back.