Suck it up

The Americans have a phrase ...... suck it up. I'm not even going to pretend to know where it comes from, but it very neatly describes my PotW knitting activity today.

Having heeded the advice of others and convinced myself to keep to the pattern's specs, I read mid-week Little.Yellow.Different.Better's post, and was inspired to add another eight repeats to the PotW, making a total of 42 repeats. Then I did the math [another fabulous phrase from across the pond] for picking up the additional stitches and marked the long rows into eights to make the whole exercise easier. Today, I sucked it up, and picked up the stitches for the border. I am embarrassed to admit that the calculation and picking up took far, far longer than the couple of hours I had anticipated, and thank goodness it was a good telly day! (double Grey's Anatomy, CSIs New York, Miami and Vegas - just some of what accompanied me on this journey), and yet it still isn't finished, since the last part involves knitting from the original, provisional cast on, and I am too nervous to do this in poor light (it now being close to midnight). I have an absolute horror of removing the waste yarn, the anchor of the entire project, and watching all the stitches unravelling.

So, no pictures today because it's too dark now, and besides, it doesn't look that pretty right now anyway.

For one reason or another, it's been an extemely stressful week at work, and I wouldn't have survived if not for some levity in the evenings. On Monday, I joined Gerard, Craig, and Esther to take part in the record-breaking largest coconut orchestra performance in Trafalgar Square. A completely ridiculous endeavour, and yet huge fun, followed by the most sublime Thai dinner.

On Thursday, I made it to film night at I Knit London to see A Chorus Line. Ah, there were tears, some singing, some wine.......... some sewing up of those ruddy blue squares for Knit a River. I even managed to bring a couple of bags of squares home with me to sew up.

Also coming home with me were the latest Vogue Knitting and Rowan 41. Having looked at VK properly this weekend, I'm none too impressed; the patterns are dowdy and the models and styling belong to the eighties. As for Rowan 41, the styling is beautiful, and I love lots of the designs, but realistically there's only one which I want to add to my to do list: Maris in Rowan Calmer, a lovely spring/summer cardigan. Trouble is, I am not a big fan of knitting with cotton, although I've seen lots of knitbloggers wax lyrical about Calmer. Anyway, looking at all the spring designs and with PotW's end in sight, I'm also inclined to start Debbie Bliss's ribbon-edged cardigan again (still love, love that pattern).