A Lesson in Patience

So, at the beginning of the year, I found a great vest pattern. It was the Begonia Vest pattern on the Knitpicks site. I knit it out of some lovely merino/bamboo (I think) fingering weight yarn dyed by Taylored Fibers on etsy. I thought the vest would turn out great, and the yarn knits beautifully.

I couldn't stop knitting on it. I got about halfway up the back and then this happened:
 

My lovely cake of yarn disintegrated into a huge mess of a knot. I nearly cried. However, I did not cry. Instead, I very maturely put the project right into the back of my WIPs bin and worked on some other projects for the next couple of months. Finally, I pulled the vest back out and sat down and untied the knot. (Which is actually what's going on in the picture above.) I then promptly finished the back and the left front. The back has a lovely lace bit on the upper back.

The vest is a racer back so it's a nice detail. It also makes a lovely change from all the plain old stockinette stitch that makes up the rest of the vest. Unfortunately, the right front has proved troublesome. I'm decreasing and decreasing, and yet, somehow, I keep ending up with more stitches than I had when I first started. (Explain that one to me.) I also got some lovely new stitch markers from another etsy shop, Lady Danio.

At some point, this project will get done.

Introduction and Works in Progress

So. I am a knitter. I have been knitting (seriously) for six years. I tend to be drawn towards lace and stitch work that does not involve cables. I get frustrated with the time cabling takes. Lace on the other hand is wonderful. You follow straightforward directions and at the end of the project, you get to work magic!

I struggle with color work, but I'm working on that. I also have a chronic case of startitis. On the plus side, even though I usually have ten plus things on the needles, I do end up finishing things. Eventually.

I spin, and I tat. I even crochet a little. Emphasis on little.

I have also started organizing my stash. I need more space to store it and also discovered that I probably have closer to twenty projects than ten right now. Which means I need to stop starting new projects. Which also means I promptly cast on a shawl last night.

I cast on Semi-Precious in a 75/25 wool/nylon blend of yarn from the etsy shop Lanitium ex Machina, colorway Sabotage. This is one of the quickest shawl patterns I have ever knit up, and it's a lot of fun.

That's what I have done since last night. Like I said, a quick knit! And I'm so excited to get it finished so I can block it. Blocking is the best part of lace knitting. Absolute magic.