Learning a New Stitch

Yesterday I decided to learn a new stitch for my shawl, the popcorn stitch. At first I was just going to substitute the double crochet stitch, since the designer said you could do that one in place of it. It would have been easier. I realized that I was just afraid of the popcorn stitch, because I didn't know it. I googled it on Youtube, and watched a video. I was happy to discover that it's really easy. I completed row 10 on my pattern, and felt elated.

This morning I decided to double check what I'd done with another video that I had just found by the designer. It turns out that she only does four double crochets and she doesn't end with a chain. I had learned it on Youtube with five double crochets, and that teacher finished with a chain. So, even though I LOVED how it looked, I ripped it out, and started doing it again , her way. At least I now understand the mechanics of it and can execute it. I went to the library and printed out the pattern. It's fourteen pages long! I'm not sure how much time this intricate shawl will take me to make.

 

A lady in my knitting group brought me in a bag of baby yarn that she no longer needs. Wow! This is such a wonderful gift. I am so excited to start using it. I forced myself to work on my vintage sweater today, and ripped back a lot of work. I'm dying to do something easier with the baby yarn, but am determined to restrain myself. I need to finish these two other projects.

I came home and made some sauce to eat with the leftover pasta that I had cooked last week. It feels good to use up the leftovers. I baked another dozen oatmeal cookies, and started a pot of soup on the stove. This one is chicken vegetable with barley.  It's nice to have plenty of healthy, prepared food for the week in the fridge. Lana is doing so much better on her diet of cottage cheese and rice. The vet said that it would give her digestive system a rest. The change in her is remarkable.