Tuesday's child has far to go

Road to Oslo has definately hit a pothole. Although last winter, I finished off mittens with a fair isle band - and three colours - three! I somehow went blank when trying to do this pattern. I couldn't remember how to hold the yarn, and the two circular needles kept getting tangled in the two strands (why this seemed easier on DPN's is beyond me).

I fiddled with holding both strands in my left hand, which is how I normally knit, then fiddled with a strand in each hand, which went slightly better.

After finishing the chart, I realized I still had two problems. One is the yarn. Not only is the Briggs and Little like baler twine, it's like uneven baler twine, with thick and thin segments. That doesn't exactly help the pattern come through. Second, I had forgotten how to weave or twist the strands together in order that you don't get gaps and holes in the pattern.
Third, I somehow misread the instructions and did a regular, rather than a provisional cast on for the picot edge, which is supposed to be stitched down later.

I think I'll cast this off and consider it a practice swatch, solve problem 1 by trying a different yarn, problem 3 by casting on properly, and problem 2 by reviewing this terrific streaming video from Philosopher's Wool and practicing some more.



I then relieved my fair isle angst by working more on Clapotis, who has now consumed two full hanks of Lion and Lamb. The colour variations are coming out really cool - I know some people don't like the pooling, but I think it's kind of neat.

I do still have twisted stitch angst, but it's getting better as I adjust tension on that particular stitch.