The Moral of the Story is - Always Follow Instructions Carefully

I first showed you this pile of yarn nearly a week ago. I wonder how many people guessed that I'd start knitting with all of it that very day. Ok, I didn't cast on with all of it - the light colored yarn is still untouched. The rest of it was indeed started that day. Oh Startitis!

The project that made the most progress was the Malabrigo hat. It looks like a shiny, black, blob in the picture but in person it's fab. Trust me - fab. It's also nearly finished and were it not for my inability to read directions it would actually be done by now. Ugh!

The pattern I'm using for this hat is Beret de Printemps by Jeni Chase. It's really well written and easy. The increases, decreases, and knits are totally not hard and clearly marked. Also clearly marked are the yellow boxes which, according to the key are not to be knit on the last repeat of the round. I cannot tell you how I pondered those yellow boxes. Apparently I couldn't wrap my head around what the instruction was telling me and just knit on happily and stupidly. All the while I wondered when the pattern would start looking right because it seemed a little off.

I finished all 3 of the repeats and started the last partial repeat when it suddenly hit me. Duh! If you don't knit the yellow stitches then the alignment changes and the pattern works out perfectly. Mad frogging ensued. thankfully I didn't have to rip it all out - just most of it. I'm back on track now and amazingly - the pattern looks much better. It's a miracle!

Apparently I can't even do simple knits without errors right now because this dead-simple toe-up sock required a bit of frogging too. Yup -frogging simple stockinette.

Another pair o recently completed socks used a new-to-me heel. That Wendy is a genious and in her new book she's got a real, non-wonky, gusset and flap heel for a toe-up sock. I love it. Love!

Unfortunately I can't do it on the fly yet like I can do a short row heel and i wound up starting the gusset increases an inch too early. Truly there's no good excus for this other than failure to properly follow directions. Detect a theme here?

Happily I'm back on track with this project too. Not only that but the knitting on my Vine Yoke Cardigan is nearly complete. Yay! There's unfortunately going to be a little repair work necessary when I get to seaming because some held stitches unraveled but... no worries yet. I really think I can fix it and have a finished sweater before I leave for Rhinebeck one week from TODAY!!! Can you tell how excited I am?