I decided to make a Honey Cowl for my friend Bobbi this year. I'd promised her something a few years back, but never found the right yarn for her. I found out she loves the colour Celadon, and I immediately thought about Mad Tosh's colourway, Celadon, in a lovely Vintage. Not having any in my stash, a friend brought me some whilst visiting New Orleans. I've made the Honey Cowl several times, and one year it was my holiday go-to, and I made about eight of them. Not a problem. I checked the pattern, cast on the required 220 stitches, did the four rounds of stockinette, began the purl/slip purl/slip pattern, and upon the second row, discovered I'd purl/purl/slipped and had to pull the whole damn thing out and start anew.
The second time I cast on the 220 stitches, began knitting it, and upon starting the fifth row, discovered that it was twisted. I frogged the entire thing. And I did check for twisting, no, really, I did! The cable between the needles was very twisty though, and it fooled me. So I bought new needles with a non-twisty cable, and thought I'd lick that problem from the start!
The third time I cast on the 220 stitches, got past the four rows of stockinette, started the pattern, and dropped a stitch. No problem! I've learned how to pick up stitches with a crochet hook (after knitting for almost 15 years). Except I was in the airport waiting for my flight to Boston and didn't have a crochet hook with me. so I ripped the damn thing out and let it sit for over a week (that'll teach it!).
The fourth time I cast on the 220 stitches, I got through the four rows of stockinette. I started the purl/slip pattern, I decided to check if we were OK and hadn't twisted, and as I was doing so, more than 15 stitches slipped off. I was able to save about 14 of them, but the last one slipped down to the very end. My efforts to pick it up were less than spectacular and so I ripped the whole thing out.
Tonight I am going to cast on for the Spiral Staircase Shawl.
