a better knitting week

So, I realise that my last post was a little bit negative. Nothing seemed to work, so I just put everything aside for a few days until it got sunny again and I got the chance to spend 2 full hours in my favourite knitting environment: the 3R-Mtl bus. I actually would rather pay lots of money to take that bus than use amigo or other carpooling systems, just for the knitting-time quality. 


I usually take this bus early in the morning, because I usually have a day full-jam-packed ahead of me when I go to Montreal. Fortunately, that's when I'm the most productive (this time, I took the 6:15am  one). I get to spend 2 full hours focusing only only on my knitting. I sit on the first row, where I have a little table that is more stable than the ones in the other rows, I take my pattern and my iPod out, put my iPod on the pattern so it won't move, turn on my iPod to one of my several knitting applications, take a sip of the café au lait I got right before I left and bang, I can knit for 2 hours straight.

This time, my main problem was that I had not followed the instructions properly, and did not do the decreases at the right interval. But somehow, I did not panic (my self-instruction "breathe" do help a lot) and kept going even if I knew I was not following the pattern. Let's call it knitting intuition, or, ahem, maybe more properly, stubbornness. Somewhere else in the pattern, I had to decrease every 6 rows, and somehow, even if it was VERY clearly written in the pattern I now had to decrease every 5 rows, I did it at every 6 rows again...but not constantly. Actually, even with my hi-tech iPod application, I'm not sure at all what I did, so it added another layer of stress: how am I now going to make sure both fronts are symmetrical?

After over 2 hours spent waiting at the passport office with my bag pack on my bag (practising for this summer, and strengthening my lower back...not) I arrived at Elizabeth's place for a session of pilates-knitting, She also did not look stressed or worried about the fact that I was doing whatever, since the final product looked OK. She also did not look worried or even puzzled at the fact that my needles were not at all where they were supposed to be (I was not stressed, because I had not realised yet I had not followed the pattern for that either). Anyway, the left front is now finished, and somehow, I finished it with the right amount of stiches left, and the right length. I started the right front, which I seem to be knitting as randomly as the left side, despite my super iPod application. But, people, take a look at this: it is starting to look like something I will soon be able to wear. (Ok, I've been saying that since about a month after I started it, last year, when I thought it looked like a cowl), so let's change this to: People, take a look at this: it is starting to look like a CARDIGAN I will soon be able to wear...maybe even on July 20, when I leave for Romania!!!

Other crafting news: after asking my man if he could see the mistake in the weaving, and he was, I did undo the inch, and weaved a couple more inches. But nothing to get exciting about yet.
Sewing: I'll try to get back to the skirt today, as I have a day off. (but I would rather try to finish my cardigan...).
Gardening: it is all green again, the new tomato plants look good and are full of flowers, and the one thing that survived our early planting, a zucchini plant, has started to produce one tiny zucc, with flowers for a few more.

Life is good again, except for the pictures that refuse to upload...I'll re-post when it's fixed, until then you'll have to use your imagination.