Shawl, Friends, Gifts

   Last night I started a shawl...'Annis', that I found on Knitty.com...with a beautiful 100% silk yarn called Luminance from KnitPicks.  It's in my favorite color, a dark jade called  Benevolence.  The directions didn't sound too difficult (HA HA!) so I thought it would make a nice gift for my old college friend's daughter who recently became engaged.  They live in South Florida so I didn't think the yarns I usually work with would be appropriate for the climate.  After spending the better part of an hour rolling the hank into a cake that would pull out thru the center (recommended for silk yarn...and frankly, the only way I like to roll a hank into a ball!) I got my little metal rings to use as markers and started casting on 363 sts. in 50 st. units--with a metal marker separating the units--on
to US10's (to make sure the cast on edge was loose.)  When my little pile of markers was almost
gone (meaning I was close to having 300 sts.on my needle) I realized somewhere along the line I had set the needles down and picked them up wrong so that my 'long tail' had switched hands.  That means for you non-knitters, I had about 4 yards of yarn hanging there going to waste!  I was so upset that I just put the whole thing down and went to bed.  This morning I carefully took the stitches off the needle and tried to rip them out but they had decided they weren't going anywhere!  I ended up with a big mess/knot that I just cut off and put to one side.  Hopefully, I won't need that yardage to finish the shawl.
   This morning I started to cast on for the shawl, again.  I got my 363sts cast on to my US 10's with a metal marker every 50 sts (or so...seems I can't count to 50 while casting on that well!). Then, instead of working the first row onto the US8's as the directions call for, I decided just to transfer the stitches on to the US8's counting them again.  Good idea, Mar!  Those little silk stitches slip and slide like ice cubes!  Finally I got all my stitches transferred and counted, and replaced  the ones 'that got away!'  Now I'm ready to start the lace border for the shawl.  The border is only 19 rows so once that's done the rest of the shawl will be a breeze!  Just regular knit and purl rows.  I hope.  I'll come back and post a photo of the lace right here X when I get it done.
   In the meantime, I've started another baby doll.  This one will be a girl with a flower hat and a pink polka dot nappie, (remember these dolls are British.)  I just called the shop to see how things were down there.  She's been busy but nothing of mine had sold today.  Oh, well, I guess that leaves me free to work on the doll or the shawl.  We're in another wet block so the grass is growing nicely and will require a trimming when we dry out again.  I'm glad we live 'high and dry'.  Some of our friends are not so lucky and have had water in their cellars again this year.