Experimentation

I hate picking up stitches. Hate hate hate hate hate. It's the Knitting Technique of Doom. So, that leads me to the question....what in the WORLD possessed me to want to try entrelac? I knew going in that it must involve picking up stitches. Lots and lots of damn stitches. But apparently on Mondays I'm a masochist, so I pulled out my Official Trying New Things Yarn (white Red Heart) and went through the instructions in Debbie Bliss's How To Knit. (I knew everything else in the book...I checked it out of the library JUST for the entrelac directions.)

Thoughts:
--When it says cast on loosely, OMG, they ain't kidding! I cast on loosely, or so I thought, and the cast-on edge still pulled in compared with the rest of the piece.
--It would have been way cooler in the variegated type of Official Trying New Things Yarn, what with the stripes going every which way.
--Wouldn't it make more sense to have the slipped stitches on the loose edge where you'll be picking up stitches eventually rather than the edge that's connected to the rest of the piece?
--The process became routine after a while. I stopped counting stitches on the short rows and just watched for a gap in the stitches...that meant I had to do something different.
--I still hate picking up stitches. It's much easier on socks.

Next challenge: Fair Isle.

Other randomness for the day:
--Bought yarn for DNA scarf and for socks for Roger. All yarn to make Christmas presents is now procured.
--Found PERFECT patterns for various presents. That is all I can say.
--Barbara Walker's stitch pattern dictionaries are TEH AWESOME! I ignored them for a while b/c of the lack of pretty color pictures, but when I gave them a chance...wonderfulness. Couldn't resist grabbing a couple.
--Lucy Neatby's handpainted merino is just as beautiful as Koigu. Bigger hanks too.