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Misery Loves Company

Foxpaw071438147w_small2
Fox Paw
I know, I know the whole thing about the challenge of lace shawl knitting is getting old.  I get it so I promise this will be the last post about it.  In fact this post won't talk about a shawl at all.  Instead you get to read about a beautiful set of stitches called Fox Paw shown above.

Xandy Peters has developed Fox Paw and sells the pattern on Ravelry.  I recommend you look it up so you can see all the beautiful scarves, wraps, cowls and throws (basically anything that can be knit rectangularly) made using this technique.  It is described as using increases and decreases to create the look of intarsia without actually having to do colour blocking.  Apparently one knits using only one colour per row.  It seems like a mighty nifty thing but I know enough about knitting to know it would be very challenging as well.

During the week of October 27 many of the normal things I do on a daily basis were neglected because I was getting my first shawl done.  I already admitted dusting and cleaning were overlooked; you know I wasn't writing here; I'd also fallen behind in reading all the knitting ¨literature¨ that comes in daily.


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The Yarn Harlot's Fox Paw 
So since last Thursday there has been catching up to do.  The house is now back in reasonable order and you can tell I'm writing more.  The last thing to get my attention was reading.  Today I caught up reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's blog, The Yarn Harlot.  On October 31 she wrote about her experience knitting Fox Paw.  You can read her post here.

Pearl-McPhee goes on about all the things she was not able to do when knitting Fox Paw.  The Yarn Harlot is one wickedly skilled knitter and spinner adept at changing patterns to meet her needs and designing others of her own.  She is also a very productive knitter; there is a new project posted on her blog every day or two and you get to see her finished work as well as the work in progress. She's that good and that fast.

So to have the Yarn Harlot talk about a pattern that won't allow her to knit on a plane or have a glass of wine or even be interrupted by anyone until she comes to the end of a row, well somehow it is very satisfying to this knitter.  It is just too bad I didn't actually read her post on Friday because it would have lifted my spirits. Knowing my knitting idol, someone who seems always to finish everything she starts and does it all so effortlessly, knowing she was struggling, it just warmed my heart today as I read about it.

I know I am being selfish, not empathetic and heartless about this, but I was struggling the same week the Yarn Harlot was and it is oh so very comforting to know my misery had such formidable company.  Pam, Tena, I know you too were struggling last week; it seems I need lots of company in my misery.  Yup, I guess I'm that kind of person.  (As one of my sons would say:  ¨Mom, that's such a First World problem.¨  Only he'd say FWP.  And of course he'd be absolutely correct, so enough with the whining.)

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