"The Eyes Are Bigger Than the Stomach" Applies to Knitting, Too.

I bet some of you are curious to know if I actually made any progress on all those projects I brought on my lake vacation.

First, a little bit about the holiday.  This was our 3^rd time visiting the Portneuf reserve for hunting and fishing in Quebec.  We always stay in the same no-electricity, gas-powered cabin (Des Epinettes, of the Pines), and sleep on the squeakiest lumpiest futon ever.  Oddly enough, I never have a problem sleeping on that thing for 9 or 10 hours a night.  YES, 9 OR 10 HOURS.PER.NIGHT.   

aaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

The view of the lake from the cabin is pristine, with two little islands in view.  

The sunsets are worth the trip, alone.

The bugs… are not so lovely.  But I carried my fly swatter everywhere, like a vigilante carries his pistol!  Luckily, mid-July is when the flies start waning, and the dragonflies are at the top of their game.  Here I am sporting my weapon.

We had two disasters.  The first was that we had NO SALT, and it is a 3 hour back and forth trip to the grocery store!  We swiped some from a neighboring cabin, but my heart rate was increasing, as it was the 4th out of 5 total we could look in.

The second involved me dropping B.’s Kindle in the lake.  Luckily, he had just finished Game of Thrones Book 5, or he would have killed me!!  We tried toasting it in the oven, but no good.  This is what it permanently looks like, now.  EDIT:  OMG, thanks to a comment on this post, we put it into a bag of rice for two weeks... AND IT WORKED!!!  After one week, the start screen appeared, but not response to the on/off button.  After two, back to the Great Gatsby!

So instead, B. started reading East of Eden out loud, and it was glorious.  Real Books 1, Electronic Books 0.  He got to page 200 by the end of our stay... wow!  (And you should see the font!  And english isn't even his native language!  <3)

To remind you of my knitting projects…. there were SIX!!  We didn’t have much room in the car, but I didn’t let on that I had so much knitting packed.  :P  okay, there were seven, but i didn't even tell YOU about that

Here is a typical Dayana shot, with a huge knitting mess around her.

I worked the most on the sleeve of Armenia, a pattern by Marie Wallin from the new Rowan Mag 54.  It is a really warm sweater, so I was actually glad that there were cooler days.  This is not a normal thing for me to say, because I like it HOT.

I had a war with the sleeve cap.  It was like Goldilocks and the Three Sleeve Caps.  “This one is too short.”  “This one is too wide.”  “This one is juuuust right.”  I had to notate and erase my chart 5 times to get it sorted.

Oh, and never mind that the chart blew into the water twice, haha.  I learned to keep a kayak oar handy for retrieval.  Also, it was written on extensively on the lower right corner by my husband when he thought it was an “unimportant” chart.  UNIMPORTANT?!  :D

My Armenia on Ravelry

The next most progress was on Anatolia, a complicated sweater that strands 3 or 4 colors at a time, in the round.

When I returned, I realized I had integrated two errors in the chart (in Rows 56 and 59, for those of you doing this pattern!).  GRRR.  I didn't want to go back, so I just made them symmetrical!!  Anyway, I'm sure you have no idea what's right and what's wrong, so ha.

My Anatolia on Ravelry

Finally, on the last day, I picked up the project I started 4 years ago, another Rowan pattern from Mag 38.  This one uses tons of bobbins and looks very complicated.  Funnily enough, I was instantly addicted and now it's the only project I really want to work on!

My Stained Glass Madness on Ravelry

A number of you chimed in about whether to do all-black sleeves, and most of you agreed, thanks!  I just have to find a yarn that will replace the discontinued Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-Ply.  The current line of Rowan Fine Tweed might do the trick... maybe Askrigg?  

You may wonder how on earth I could have aaaaall that time and still not knit more.  Well, I did have a few other pursuits.  I read most of two books: American Pastoral (Philip Roth) and Breakers (mystery by one of my faves, Minette Walters).  I also forayed into the world of baking bread!

Ok, do you see that caption "demonstrates every stage in every key technique".  Well.  There is not one instruction on how to knead.  Just, "knead 10 minutes".  How is that demonstrative?!  After a few disasters, I had to get 'schooled' by B.  I even have a great video that I have watched over and over, and not because of his kneading technique, heh heh.  But I have to preserve his honor, as he was in his undies. 

And here is that final beauty!

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