More knitting stuff, sigh.

I had this great idea to knit up a long vest for a trip Husband and I will be taking in the future.  I printed out the pattern, picked out the yarn, with a bit of help from Mom (thanks!!), and proceeded to work on it. 

First thing, I put on my circular needles, and POP, one side came off.  This was not terribly out of the blue, I had trouble with the needle before, but it still meant I had to find some way NOT to lose stitches, and ask Husband to please fix it, if he could.  He did, (thanks!!). 

So, while he was doing that, I scared up another circular needle, so I could see if I could keep up the momentum.  Which was great.  At first.

Knit, LOTS of stitches.  This does seem like a long, long row.  Huh.  Well, the pattern is going well...One whole section finished.

Knit the  next row... 5 stitches?  There is supposed to be 4.  Uh, oh. 

For anyone who doesn't knit, lace is more or less a big math problem.  When one stitch is off, it can make the whole pattern go wonky.  So, I ripped the row, and started over.  Finally, it's correct.

Reading the blasted pattern, it was about 4 point, 6 point tops print, and so I had to keep picking up the pattern to read it.  But, it looks nice, and I am just... 6 stitches?  WTH??!?!?  Ok, rip, and knit again.  Dang, this thing seems to be large.

I showed it to Mom, and she agreed.  I still thought I had worked it out correctly, but decided to get a "for sure" measurement.  After a bit of awkwardness, Husband told me the measurement...

Oh. Crap.  I mis-measured, and had a full two sizes larger than I needed.  Bah.  Okay, not the end of the world, rip, and start over. 

And so I did.  Looks a bit less daunting.  Knit, knit, yes, this looks good, knit, now to the lace... You know, I am going to type that nonsense up where I can read it from a distance of more than an inch or two.  That's better, now back to knitting.

Okay, all set.  Knit, knit, knit, crap. 5 stitches again.  SIGH.  What is the problem?  I know the pattern is fine, I did the first section with not too much problem.  So, ripped again. Knitted again.  Then I notice that I made one loop, about 2 rows down, way too large.  It didn't come out as a nice lacy opening, it looked more like a tear.  Hmm.  Then I notice I am SIX STITCHES OFF AGAIN...

Ok, that's it.  I was genuinely thinking about what lighters or matches I had in the house.  So, I very carefully ripped it out, completely, put it in a sack, and put it away for a bit. 

If I don't finish it by the time I leave, well... I have other things to wear.  But I was hoping this would be a nice thing for my trip.  But having my eye twitching, and Husband enduring some extremely  unladylike language when I discovered my mistakes, does not make for a good experience for either of us.

So, I am working on a basic hat, and a basic sock. 

Haven't screwed those up yet...

siiiiiigh...