I wasn’t going to blog today (don’t you find that the whole “spring ahead” daylight savings thing puts you way more behind than an hour?) but I’m just so annoyed I have to share.
Look at this.
I was admiring my knitting and noticed that somehow, a stretch of my snowy merino/angora has gotten soiled, and I didn’t notice, and I knit it in. (I suppose that this is the eventual price for knitting instead of cleaning… some sort of cosmic come-uppance. Noted.) I don’t know if that’s dirt that will wash out, or a stain, or what, but there’s really no point in continuing until I try and wash it out, since if it won’t wash out, I’ll have to rip back, take out that bit and reknit.
Is there some sort of a hit out on this project?
Seriously. You can tell me. I’m figuring it out anyway.
(Also, I got the dishwasher back together but it doesn’t care that the penny is out. Score: Major appliance 1, Stephanie 0.)
Oh hugs!!! Hope it comes out!
I COMPLETELY understand!!! Try it.. wash it… It Might wash out??? IF there is a hit..I think I’ll wait to start another lace project!
Exquisite yarn + sexy needles = doomed project. (and in my house it’s also major appliance in the lead – damn washing machine!)
First? My sympathies on yet another roadblock with the shawl. I just wanted to tell you that craptastic is one of my favorite words. Also, craptacular which may be describing the dishwasher’s behavior.
Nice nupps, Steph. Sorry about the, ahem, grungy laceweight.
Hugs!!! Hope it comes out! If it makes you feel any better I just found the 2yr old playing with my skein of 1300yds of cobweb lace yarn that is strung up between 2 chairs while I wind the mess by hand. I could cry.
It’s the great gruesome gansey curse :^)
It looks like this project has it in for you. Some projects are like that.
I still think this piece needs a time-out.
Oh I hope it’s just some dust or something and comes right out! And I’m sorry the dishwasher is mis-behaving still. There seem to be two types of dishwasher – those you can dismantle and replace just the pump that’s failed, and those where the whole guts of the machine are one unit that pretty much makes up the whole cost of the machine. Having just last year replaced one of the latter machines, where the cost of parts and labor to fix the old one was $200 more than the cost of a new machine, I feel for you.
After that beginning and now this! I would have put that on the ‘toast alter’ without a pause.
Good luck getting the streak out.
Have you taken a look at the rest of the cake to see if it’s a recurring issue?
What the heck? I just don’t think this project wants to be completed. Or perhaps it is possessed. Maybe you need a knitting exorcism.
Poor you! This project seems to be telling you something! Hope it washes out easily (unless you fancy making grubby stripes a bit of a design feature!?)
Steph, I’m sending lots of good thoughts your way. I hope all your issues resolve themselves sooner rather than later. Have you considered the possibility of a squirrel mafia?
If it is any consolation, I started my February Lady’s Sweater with store bought yarn from my stash. Yup, I started it last June, have ripped repeatedly, and nope, it isn’t done yet. Your FLS is gorgeous, all hand spun and plied. All the FLS at Stitches were cute and well knit. Mine is now the DFLS (DAMN February Lady’s Sweater) and just may be finished by Feb 2010. Maybe. Before I started the last ripping, it made me look like a dumpy 110 year old instead of just an overweight 55 year old. Some projects just have negative ions all over them. Or are possessed.
Yes, I know, FLS doesn’t have the same difficulty as lace knitting, but if I don’t finish the FLS, I’ll never start anything more difficult than a washcloth again. Sending good thoughts about your lace
This is going to sound insane, but it’s worth a try, anyway. (try it with a snippet of knitting with that yarn first!)
After filling the basin with water and dish detergent (the blue one), add maybe 2 tablespoons (a glug, maybe 2) of “Classic Coke.” Er, Coca Cola, that is.
Let it soak briefly (10 minutes tops), then rinse etc as usual.
For a whole load of wash in the machine, we use a full can… so figure it from that.
It’ll take out axle grease, honest to Pete. You just don’t want to let it sit *too* long…
Good luck, and you have my full sympathy
Nan
Just like a really great pair of earrings with the right dress, the project and those needles look exquisite together. Stain or no stain.
*snort* Are you matching your blog posts to your calendar on purpose? Look at today’s page.
Oh, that’s awlful. You are such a good lace knitter. I love the nupps.
Must be something in the air.I found a mistake in my sock today at lunch so instead of knitting I got to tink-just ducky.But I’ll gladly trade you my working dishwasher for your working furnace!Yup-ours died on Friday.The furnace guy was surprised it actually lasted this long!What a funny guy-NOT!
That dirty spot WILL come out.
As for the dishwasher…does it miss Sir Washie? Is this poor behavior part of the appliance grieving process?
Given that the yarn is white, you might even be able to use a weak bleach solution…
You are a far braver woman than I. If I wear white, knit with white, stand next to white, or even question if white is actually a color I will get it filthy in seconds. When I was required to wear all white to work I proved this theory every single day. You can always dye it after I suppose.
I’m getting excited for camp. Homework is coming in too. Will you also be requiring homework? Can I bribe you with haircare products and Merlot?
Maybe the universe is roadblocking you because you are essentially knitting the lace version of snow? And it is March and March pretends to be about getting rid of snow? That’s my best explanation.
I agree with the tack of washing to see if the smudge comes out, though, especially if it is going to bother you in the FO.
And by now you’re EXPERT at those first few inches of shawl, right? 😉
Oh ouch. At least with the knitting, you can take a piece out, keep it out, and have the thing work. Hoping it washes clean! (I have SO been there!)
I think you are wise to cease and desist for now…and wash it. It will probably come out.
If it were me, I’d have frogged the whole thing ages ago, and foisted the yarn on someone else — I’m sure I’d be cursed. You are far too sensible and talented to go that route, though. 🙂
Oh ouch. At least with the knitting, you can take a piece out, keep it out, and have the thing work. Hoping it washes clean! (I have SO been there!)
Oh, and Carrie up there–bleach will dissolve animal fibers. Oxygen bleach like Clorox 2 is okay, but never regular bleach.
I am laughing because I have frequently gotten handmade gifts from my Grandmother over the years that have something or other on them. I love her dearly and she put so much work into things. Once it was a ginham stitched table cloth with a cigarette burn in it (my Grandfather was the smoker not her, I can’t even imagine how it happened!) and most recently a beautiful embroidered large christmas table cloth….with coffee stains and blood stains.
My apologies–I got the “it didn’t go through” message and thought well, okay, tack on the bit for Carrie so she doesn’t accidentally wreck a project sometime. Sorry about the rerererepeat stuttering effect!
Dearest Harlot: I don’t know what to say about the grime. But I know how it got there. It was put there by the evil Estonian F%^& You Fairy. I’m surprised he had time to screw up my new shawl (three times) AND make it to Toronto in time to smudge your yarn.
And trust me, you will like the new dishwashers much more. Don’t get the cheapest. Get one with a stainless interior — they are much quieter. I look at it this way — I would gladly pay someone $1 to wash a load of dishes. I hate doing dishes. And at $1 a load, the dishwasher pays for itself in less than three years. And I usually don’t buy extended warranties, but I know too many people who had to repair theirs — I buy them and am not sorry.
I have to go now and tink back a row of lace to find out where I went off reservation.
Oh, my! On both counts – dishwasher and knitting. I hope both get better soon. I shall chant to the knitting gods that the soiling comes out!!!
So sorry about the dirt line – ugh – I truly think that some projects are just jinxed. Haven’t you ever before had a project that just had one thing after another go wrong with it? To the point where you questioned your sanity in continuing with it? And it doesn’t even need to be anything at all complex like lace. I agree with you 100% about the spring forward thing. I always feel more like I’m being dragged forward – unwillingly. The older I get, the longer it takes me to adjust to the time change. This year it’s worse than eve because we went to the opera Saturday which meant that we were up & about much later than is our norm. And next week, we are leaving for California – so we’ll be traveling across 2 times zones & back. I doubt I’ll have any idea of what time it is by the time we get back!
Twist collective has an interesting looking article about dying a shawl (after knitting) with gorgeous results. It’s a thought. I personally will consider anything that prevents ripping. I’m lazy like that.
Coke in the washer? You learn something new everyday. I hope you find a solution for your lace, which is gorgeous. I’m sending you some positive energy and hope it helps.
I agree with Erica at 6:15 – looks great, stain or no stain. Am I a lazy knitter for thinking that the discoloration (dirt? grime? why the pejorative terms?!?!) would get lost in the beautifulness of that shawl once its all done?
Sending sympathy your way!
However, I don’t really think you should stress about it. I mean, yeah, it seems like it’s going to wreck the thing now, but think about how much pain you’ll go through just to a) get it out or b) take the stained/dirty part out and reknit. Unless this kind of thing really, really, really drives you crazy, I don’t think that when the shawl is knit up, you won’t notice it. And even better, no one else will. Probably not even other knitters. hugs. 🙂
There must be a hit out on this project, there’s no other explination. When that happens to me, i take some time off from it. I say spot wash it and see if that helps (take a damp cloth and MAYBE a little bit of soap and just dab at it for a bit), then pour yourself a glass of wine (AWAY from the shawl!!) and work on something else for a bit.
As for the dishwasher, what the heck is wrong with it?? I know I’D feel better if someone took a penny out of me, and I’d like to think the human body is a heckuva lot more complicated than a dishwasher.
Good luck!!
I think Presbytera is spot on – I was going to ask if you’d considered possibly sticking the shawl in time out and knitting something else for a while.
In any event, best of luck with both the knitting and the dishwasher!
Hugs.
Hugs. Be strong. Give yourself a little break . . . 🙂
Would you see it from a galloping horse? If not and you can live with it then we won’t tell anyone!
I can only say that that sucks big time, the lace and the dishwasher.
I’d be thinking about what color to dye this project….. perhaps a lovely teal.
Hugs. Sending the love your way. 🙂
Oh boy! try to wash it…make the decision if it needs to be ripped back…move on. It isn’t going to beat you!
The dishwasher: don’t waste money on repairing it appliances are built now to only last about 8-10 yrs. That’s the throw away mentality catching us.
Hugs to you.
The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t. ~Henry Ward Beecher
It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein
I was talking to my husband about your washing machine yesterday and I mentioned that if I talked about my own washing machine I would get up and walk out of the room in boredom, but you are fascinating and I could listen to you talk about evil washing machines for weeks and still chuckle happily whenever you bring it up.
Thank you.
Oh man what a pain. I suggest a glass of wine and some chocolate….far away from the knitting of course!
There is a hit out my lace project, as well. Maybe some cosmic anti-lace movement. Bloody hell.
A project that seems to be working against you is all the more reason to persevere so you can emerge victorious. Do not let The Project make you give up!
Stephie – face it. This project is DOOMED. It is NOT TO BE. WHY do you contiue to TAUNT AND TEMPT the YARN GODDESS? Repent and she will relent – and maybe you won’t have unknit. I’d confess my knitting sins (they happen after beer o’clock) and then say five Hail Yarn Goddesses on your stitch counter:
“Hail, Knitty, full of fiber, the yarn is with you. Blessed art thou among crafters and blessed is the fruit of thy needles, fabric. Holy Purly, mother of creativity, have mercy on us knitters, even now and at the hour of our unraveling. Amen.”) Then maybe throw the thing in the washing machine on gentle and see what happens.
It’s clearly a conspiracy.
I think the dishwasher made the wool dirty. It wants everything dirty. Sure, this is irrational – but sometimes the universe is like that.
Holy Water. I threaten my knitting and my computer with it on a fairly regular basis, and everything behaves nicely… and if it doesn’t – I threaten to replace everything with a MAC. Your mileage may vary.
No the score is not 1 to 0 for the dishwasher. It is even— you actually got that thing back together and you deserve a medal for even trying to do it yourself.
That is so odd, that grime would get on your knitting in a line like that. Dirt usually makes a blob, like when I dropped part of a peanut butter sandwich on a baby sweater I was making. Try gently washing it under the tap with a bit of detergent, and pat dry. Good luck.
If you wash it out, will it affect the gauge? I ask only because I washed a sleeve once before I decided that I needed to make it a tad longer. The gauge turned out differently! Good luck. Sorry about the dishwasher.
The whole DST feels like more than an hour is totally not just you. And according to this article (http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/597327) it’s harder on women than men.
Good luck with the shawl. I know it would really bug me, but if you think about it are you really going to notice it when the whole thing is finished – I mean will the rest of it stay perfectly white? Yeah, the voice in the back of my mind is saying nice try but that would always bother me, so good luck trying to clean it, hope you don’t have to rip back.
If it’s just part of a row (can’t tell from the picture), can you duplicate stitch over the ex-white yarn and then cut out the offending piece?
So, I guess washing it in the dishwasher is out,eh? I’m sorry for your losses.
Man, that totally stinks about the mis-coloration in the shawl. But I am confident you will persevere.
One quick note on the Stephanie vs. Dishwasher score, shouldn’t it be:
Dishwasher 1, Stephanie C$ 0.01
You have sooo confirmed the reason I do not knit with white! Good luck!
First of all, I agree that DST is enough to really mess you up a bit, and it’s so early this year. I hate getting up in the dark again. (so much so that I stayed in bed for an hour.. which I did pay for later…)
the line of grey that had to be pointed out with a neon green line?? not noticeable…
I love the idea of washing it in the dishwasher, but you probably aren’t up for that type of humor at this point. Stephanie is *nver* a zero in my book. hang in there…
That 4mm needle you used to clean out the dishwasher wasn’t attached to knitting was it? Tell me that is not dishwater crud staining it?
It is absolutely beautiful…I think this is my next lace project
Oh crap – I was so sure you’d fixed the dishwasher…
Good luck with washing the dirt out of the yarn, too… gah.
We don’t get daylight saving time here for another 3 weeks – can’t wait…
Isn’t major appliance 1, Stephanie $.01? Seriously, don’t back down on that. You’re still ahead of a lot of us.
If it doesn’t come out, why not dye it a nice, soft, er, dove grey?
OOOOOOKAY!!!!!!!!!!!
Time to put the snowy merono in the UFO pile. That’s right, WALK AWAY from the knitting. (pick it up again in a few months. It will be better, trust me.)
YOU GUYS have daylight saving time? (even if it is 3 weeks from now, so children aren’t standing at the bus stop in the DARK at 6:57 AM?) I thought Canada was smarter than us! (well sometimes anyway) And no they don’t stand in the dark here, they sit in Mom’s SUV with the engine running until the bus shows up. PULLLEASE don’t get me started.
Why don’t you do some duplicate stitch over the dirty yarn, then snip out the offending section? I’d do this before tinking myself. The yarn looks like you can do a lovely join that won’t show…
I’m scared for beautiful white things in my house. If it were me I’d look at is as an opportunity to try dying a shawl–and you have a the perfect friend to help with that, in Tina.
I agree that daylight savings time has a cascading geometric effect. I believe it is an evil plot to deprive me of sleep, but others don’t seem as bothered.
Hope the yarn discoloration is easily dealt with -it just doesn’t seem fair to have gone through so much with such a beautiful project. Just not fair at all.
Oh, dear, here’s hoping the grey washes out and the dishwasher begins behaving! That project is clearly deserving of a lengthy time out, however. Also, you’re now scaring me about the white wedding shawl I’m starting to knit for my niece. At least I’ve allowed myself 14 months to account for time outs!
And the daylight savings thing is messing us all up. My mom, who was just beginning to feel semi-human again on Saturday after her post-surgery problems, is now 100% wiped out again. And I’m not much better. I really, really have work on my computer that HAS to get done today, but it’s hard to work when your eyelids keep drooping in spite of massive infusions of the wonderful brown elixir of life!
Oh my, oh my, oh my, Can anything else go wrong? Sure hhope it washes out for you . Good luck
Well, if your house is anything like my house, it’ll be dusty and your knitting just picked up a bit of extra dust…. I hope it comes out so you don’t have to take it back… from your previous blog that’s a LOT of stitches to redo.
Eh, if it doesn’t wash out, it’ll look lovely as a black or brown shawl. I can never keep white clean, graceful being that I am, so everything gets a dye when I’m finished!
Sir Washie is beckoning Madame Dishwashie from the Great Beyond. They were a Thing, you know.
Definately cursed. Know any voodoo priestesses that might help?
If nothing else, hand washing dishes has to be better than carrying your laundry to your MIL’s house, on foot, in the snow. I can’t imagine what that’d be like.
Good luck on all fronts– knitting, appliance, and whatever else might be thinking about going wrong.
That happened at my house once…for us it was a blue/purple stain thing, and it would appear from time to time in the yarn. Only it was dye, not a stain, from a mistake at the yarn spinner’s end.
I hope yours ends better than that. It looks like what happens when I knit with metal needles and have to tear a row out and re-knit it. The metal deposits a bit of something on the fiber and it washes right out.
Good luck!
I’d overdye it 🙂 that way no matter what happened along the way, it’d “work”. White, never stays white, in my house!
Oooh, there’s definitely a gremlin in this project. Give it a soak in the bathroom room and go away and knit something colourful and fun.
Paint it artistically with bleach?
Send it to me and I’ll *ahem* fix it (heh heh).
Pity you can’t throw the shawl in the dishwasher and heck with both of them.
Also, you deserve at least 1/2 a point if you got the dishwasher back together without any “spare” parts leftover.
Oh No! My thoughts and prayers are definitely with you *and* the shawl. That is just not right. Let us know how it repairs this clear breach of relationship. Best of luck!
Oh man, that sucks. Good luck.
OH I completely understand that smudge…mine happened when I first tried following a chart..also when I got my first pair of glasses for my astigmatism…I ripped this one section back so often that I actually changed the color or yarn..to this day the colors dont match..I have thought of dying it…
You might want to try Oxi-Clean. Despite the obnoxious ads, the stuff actually works, especially on white or light colors. (It’s apt to lighten darker colors) Make a strong solution with HOT water, immerse shawl and leave overnight, weighing it down with a plate or something if shawl floats. Rinse carefully and repeatedly, and lay flat to dry. Good luck! That’s a heartbreaker.
PS: I would not use chlorine bleach. May yellow wool.
ohhhhhhhhhh! and it is looking so good otherwise!
I agree with Michelle. both the shawl and the dishwasher need a good time out.
Make them stand in a corner and think about what they have done.
Oh Stephanie. I am so sorry about the dirt.
I dont think I saw anyone recommend lemon juice. If you wash it and maybe mist it with lemon juice and set it in the sun (DST comes in handy!) to help it bleach naturally without damaging the wool.
Good luck. The project does seem to have some bad karma, but you know when something is this much trouble, it will be totally worth it in the end.
That, or it will be “lost” somewhere mysteriously.
Do what Renee said!
I was hoping to be the one who suggested very minor surgery, but I was beaten. A minor blow to the ego for me, but a good idea for you.
It’s definitely the curse of Daylight Savings Time Mondays…… Don’t ask how I know.
While I was working on the lace pi shawl for my little grandson, I noticed what appeared to be TEA STAINS about 3 rows back. I spent a long evening staining my swatch and trying to get the tea out. I did eventually get enough out that I decided it would be OK – maybe you’ll be lucky too.
at least it’s white….you have a chance..
It’s DEFINITELY a plot. Ask anyone anywhere about daylight savings time and they’ll say, “dumbest idea ever. Whoever thought of that is a jerk.” But then no one knows who really thought of it so no one knows how to repeal it.
That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it. I began and ripped out a blanket I’m knitting no less than six times today for various reasons. I’m about to cut the yarn up into very small pieces in front of the rest of the stash to show it to not mess with me.
Why, yes! I AM dieting. How did you know?
I figured Daylight Saving Time was an evil plot to make me feel like crap for three weeks.
The last time I was working on a project that repeatedly misbehaved, I finally put it in a time out for about 6 weeks. You have to show your knitting who’s boss. (At that point it was either put it in a time out or burn it, and I didn’t really want to burn it. But I just didn’t want to look at it anymore…for a while.)
Monday March 9: Three questions for a knitter having trouble…#3, methinks? Not meaning to rub it in but maybe you live by a park with a large oak tree?
My new favorite word! I also like, “sucktacular”, that one always explains the moment for me.
Damn, honey, who did you piss off? If it were me, I would call it a “Spirit line”, because us Native Americans believe the universe is not perfect, and neither are our creations. Navajo rugs have a spirit line weaved into them, or purposely add a ‘mistake’ in order to appease the spirit world. Not that you have to, I’m just offering up an “out” so you don’t have to frog.. Otherwise, I understand and support whatever you choose!
You are so right re; Daylight Savings Time.
I think my Circadian rhythm broke.
Okay, this is the way I see it, but I am gifted with convoluted logic, so you are welcome to ignore. I opened your picture in Preview and counted 11 rows back, past the dirt. Then I went back to your post about how many times you cast on: at least 10 times. Hmm! Seems like it’s been awhile since you went back, say, around 11 rows.
There’s more: I’m on a limited budget and petrified that I could run out of yarn before money. I’m not stashless, but my projects have a finite number. So I believe that this an opportunity for bonus knitting.
Oh, by the way, I’m on row 163 of the Peacock Feathers shawl, and things are getting huge. So 11 rows at 331 stitches is a lot of knitting.
Don’t let this sabotaged project win. You are still ahead because it’s fixable. And it’s so beautiful!
You’ll know what to do. Good luck!
My sympathies on the passing of your dishwasher. My dishwasher is also in the last stages of a prolonged illness, with the most recent symptom being a broken handle that has to be jammed *just so* with a rubber spatula in order to run.
To top it all off, my son needs new black pants for a school function, and there are, bizarrely, none to be had in all of Markham, and I’m knitting a sweater of modular square sweaters in which the first row went great but the second row is making me feel like I’m knitting in a house of mirrors. Crazy, distorting, reversing mirrors.
However, on the plus side, spring is definitely coming and no dishwasher can hold it back.
Are you sure it’s not your friend the squirrel?
The joy seems to have been sucked right out of this project. Maybe time to take the cue and give it a rest?
Or not, up to you, of course.
Hmmm – I would put that lovely lump of lace on a thick terry towl and gently soak the area with some love wool wash….the stain may absorb onto the terry towel. And if it doesn’t – you can always go to plan B – but I would give it a try. Beautiful it is – – even with the shaded area!
Work it in as a design element. Lace 0- Stephanie 1
Hmmm – I would put that lovely lump of lace on a thick terry towl and gently soak the area with some lovely wool wash….the stain may absorb onto the terry towel. And if it doesn’t – you can always go to plan B – but I would give it a try. Beautiful it is – – even with the shaded area!
Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. This may be one of those days.
Sorry about the shawl. I wouldn’t worry about it, and I would keep on knitting, but you’re not me. You’ll worry about it and it will haunt your dreams. So, rip it back and toast the grungy bit. Mark the grungy bit before you rip it back because you’ll never find it once it isn’t knit up any more.
Somehow I always believe that the more challenges I have to conquer to do something, the better it will be in the end. A little calm thought shows that that belief is absolute rubbish, but I keep thinking it anyway. Must have read too many Greek myths when I was young.
About Daylight Savings? I sprang *back* this year, and had a really good day until I figured it out and lost two hours in one minute.
Way more than an hour behind. It’s like getting jetlag, without the perks of travel.
36 years ago I knitted a cream-colored afghan for my brother’s wedding present and spilled grape Kool-aid on it as I was wrapping it. I wept, I cursed, but the stain remained. The afghan is in shreds from being used so much and the marriage endures. BTW, on other stains I’ve had great luck standing on a ladder and pouring boiling water from a height onto fabric with a mild detergent on it.
You mean Canada has gotten snookered in too with moving up Daylight’s Saving Time?! That move was pushed through the US Congress by my Congressman, Ed Markey, from my very own town of Malden, Massachusetts. And I do not take kindly to waking up in the dark again when I can’t even use the extra hour of late light to go out in the garden (it snowed most of today). I thought my family in Montreal at least didn’t have to “spring forward” yet. Sorry that Markey and the US have bear-led Canada on this.
You might try Drano down the sink, if they have a common drain. Our dishwasher wasn’t draining right, but it was the sink that had the plug – and if we’d Drano-ed the sink, we would have saved some money. Or if you have your own snake, snaking the dishwasher drain.
🙂
white vinegar seems to be good on just about everything. Might be worth a light soak and toweling with gentle rinse. Good Luck.
Sorry about your dingy lace. That is a bummer.
Also, I think it’s funny that we came up with the same blog post title today, completely independently of each other. The Universe must be trying to tell us something.
At least you don’t have to cast on again Ü
While you’re washing, you could just block that bit… Ü
Re Dishwasher: Have you checked the foot valve? It’s a valve that opens to allow drainage and then closes for filling. If your dishwasher isn’t draining, the foot valve may be broken or stuck. Replacing it on our KitchenAid extended its life by 10 year-well worth the expense. Condolences on the “soiled” yarn. I had a second glass of red in sympathy.
You are a way better woman than I am. I would have given up on this project long ago. I truly hope you are able to wash it out. Is there a lifeline on this project? (Jan. 30th calendar page) Since you are a better woman, you will finish this, and I cannot wait to see you modeling it!
Curses.
Do you want to come over and work your magic with my Mr. Washie? The timer is broken.
Good luck with your dishwasher and your lace.
It’s time for things to turn around, I think.
Dang it!
This is why my mother never let me wear white pants. That and the colorful undies always seems to peek through from underneath.
I’m so sorry! Things around here have been like that lately too. I’ve got a dented husband and a dented car. The denting occurred in separate accidents, but my husband managed to do both. Then there was the anaphylactic allergy attack. Husband again, man he’s just on a roll. The good news is that eventually both he and the car will be fine. The question is, will I be LOL?!? They say that these types of thing happen in threes, I told him that he was seriously done making mischief and getting into trouble, even if it all was completely unintentional and not really his fault. Sigh! Good luck with your shawl, I’m sending clean and snowy white thoughts your way. Even if it needs a bath, your shawl is still lovely!
I love white too. I wear as much white as I can… don’t even guess how many soft flowing wide legged white panst I have…
As for the shawl…
I would rip it back. Washing, rinsing, soaking it in coke, bleach, whatever sounds just too dangerous (unless you want to give the knitting fairy an other laugh by knitting up the whole thing and felting it at the end…
So I would rip it back, the last row like five stitch after five stich. Put it back to the needle by small amounts. Knit one row extra carefully. Knit two other rows just to show the thing who is the master. Then put it away for a while. That would really show it…
After knit something else. how about an other Noro scarf? The Gunsey?
There are some projects which just aren’t MEANT to be – and this is clearly one of them – put it away for a week! Then take it out and look at it, and shove it in the back of a cupboard. My lace shawl is ‘resting’ in a deep dark cupboard right now. Good luck with it, I feel for you.
Well…what can I tell you…you have worked
very hard on this piece and try as you may
there are sprinklings of minor errors. Now,
I know how important it is to have a perfect
knit without errors or errors that don’t show themselves, but maybe this piece is trying to tell you something. Either your head is somewhere else while you are knitting, you’re physically & mentally tired from all your
other commitments, or the Knitting Fairy is telling you there is NO SUCH THING AS
PERFECT! Why we all strive for exact per-
fection is beyond me. Oh we do our very
best no matter how hard we try, but there
it is again…not yet perfect. Maybe we
should take a step back and say, ok, not
perfect is ok too. I can live with it.
That doesn’t mean I won’t continue
trying to dance the dance of perfection,
but letting go of that constant striving
for complete perfection, & accept the less
than perfect as well. Not too often but
maybe to make a little room for it in our
lives. From a striving-for-perfection,
non-perfect knitter.
PS I have been trying to place my comments
within the non-existent borders and admit
defeat. I can live with it.
My sympathies.
Why did I start the Isis shrug before checking on Ravelry instead of after, when I found I am not the only idiot to have started and ripped back about a zillion times and am apparently too stupid to make the pattern work?!!!
Sigh.
Live and learn. Good luck washing…
I did that with a doily I was knitting. Turns out, as good as Addi lace needles are, they can leave a nasty mark on really light colored fabric if allowed to sit a bit. Good luck!
Dear Stephanie, daylight saving is ahead for us Dutch in less than three weeks, although it hurts in the mornings for a week or two, we love longer daylight in summer evenings, then, in autumn, we hate the earlier getting dark afternoons afterdaylight saving season. You really thought your dishwasher would like being paid only one penny after all those years he happily washed for your whole family in return for a smile? Now he will insist on being paid a (few?) 100 dollar. s. Arethere any blogreading dishwasher repair woman/man of the non-knitting type in your neighbourhood who would like socks in exchange for the repairtime for your appliances if you pay for the to exchange parts? Would be nice for both parties. The smudge on your yarn, did you try the ahum spit trick? If a bit of your spit removes the stain, it will wash out, like bloodstains or sweat. Otherwise, rip or tinker, cut the dirty yarn out, you will never be happy with that smudged row or always long for the lovely white if you are to overdye it. Did you knit with sweaty hands? It is known to dirt your yarn. Try out how it got stained to avoid in the future. Do not give in on the lace, you love knitting, in the end if you rip you will just knit a bit or two longer on this project than you had accounted for, in a year you will have forgotten the extratime and your lace will still be perfect. Hats of for putting dishy together again, he has felt your love and after some TLC from a dishwasher savvy person he will dishwash happily again, otherwise it was just a very clear asking for retirement, then send him to where Sir Washy reclines, they will have so many happy memories together. Seriously, I feel for you, it stinks when all apliances fail in a years time and it is soo costly, the bright rim on the clouds being that you will have good working appliances for years to come, fingers crossed.
Soak your knitting in cold water and Dawn liquid dish soap (the original blue)overnight… give it a few swishes and squeezes the next morning and rinse with cold water. Lay flat to dry on a towel. Your stain should come out and will not hurt your yarn. This is the way to clean old linens and handwork, too.
Smiles,Stephanie Smith
Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee – I love you! I love the word Craptastic! You know how I love the word crap – now I have a new word to use. Thanks!
Sorry about your shawl – but you are determined to win – so do what you must to clean it and plow forward girl
BTW Stephanie – there are a few errata’s for this shawl, I went through and checked my whole book and made the corrections. Hope you did too!
Just a thought!
Personally I am now in a space that would do nothing, for now, and just keep on going. I believe in denial these days, that the great cosmic plan is on my side (and yours) and that it will all come out in the wash….
There is also the old fashion way of bleaching, rub, very gently a bar of plain soap on the line of dirt, and place in the sun…Works!!!
By the way I do agree about the time change, right now I think I want to move to sask… If they can do it,(not change time EVER) why cant we?
Oh no 🙁 You’re a better person than me that you’d undo it and reknit with clean yarn. I’d just overdye it and be a little sad I didn’t have a snow white shawl.
I have some natural colored laceweight that CAME with a bit of a black smudge on it. That was annoying, but it’s going to turn dark blue, and I’m going to ignore it.
I hope your shawl and dishwasher stop giving you so much trouble.
I vote with Frenchette – I would call it a design element and continue on. Anything but ripping again. Wash it when you’re finished and if it comes out all the better. If it doesn’t its a design element. Denial and justification has gotten me through a few projects that were…shall we say challenging.
Also, the time changes here on the 29th and I’m so not looking forward (no pun) to it at all. This is jet lag with out going anywhere interesting.
Oh dear. It seems obvious that THAT yarn does not want to become THAT shawl. I thought this might be the case when it spent so much time requiring that you return it to it’s childlike state, but now that it’s taken to playing in the dirt behind your back, I’m positive. Stephanie, your yarn is suffering from Peter Pan syndrome. It’s not ready to grow up yet. Perhaps it just needs a few more years in the stash to mature, to fully understand that grown up yarn (aka a lace shawl) gets to stay up late and engage in things like “heavy petting.” But you can’t rush these things. If it’s not ready,it’s just not ready. Continuing will only lead to further juvenile yarn tantrums, and who wants to deal with petulant fiber any more than they really have to?
On the other hand, you’ve invested a lot of time and effort in this yarn’s future. It’s high time it took your advice and considered it’s career options. You could threaten to turn it into the equivalent of baby wipes and farm it out to all the expectant mothers you know. I’m sure once it ponders it’s choices in life it will prefer to be lovingly wrapped around someone’s shoulders rather than wiping a dirty baby butt.
If it doesn’t rip out, could you dye over it? Unless the shawl needed to be white.
I think the shawl would be lovely in a different color (or rather, colour) too.
About Daylight Saving Time? It’s not just you. I never lose an hour — it’s more like a week. I wander around, nearly incapable of stringing a coherent sentence together, nevermind doing complicated knitting.
And as for the lace. Rip it. I myself would leave it, cuz I wouldn’t be able to find it later let alone anyone else doing so. But you? It will make you crazy until it’s fixed. Put it in a time out, preferably where it can see you enjoying some quality knitting time with something else. Then when it’s feeling suitable contrite, rip out the grubby bit and carry on, secure in the knowledge that it will be perfect when it’s done.
Coke is great for de-greasing bicycle chains too! Probably why I don’t drink it except under desparate circumstances.
I’d rather rip than wash. If it doesn’t go into the washing machine, I don’t buy it – except for my knitted stuff, of course.
Sure it’s not a lovely highlight of yarn that was a little darker? A natural streak?
Oh man! I’ll make whatever sacrifices to the fiber gods you need that it washes out easily without ruining what you’ve already done.
Does the dishwasher miss it’s old buddy, Sir Washie? Is it pining? Poor dishwasher. More importantly, poor Stephanie.
Do you have a black lace shawl? No? Then forget trying to get the line out and dye the thing black when you’ve finished it. Voila – problem solved!
Or just stick it in indefinite time out. I attempted to knit a Tuscany shawl and ripped it out four times. The last time, I cursed violently and ripped it out and wound the yarn back around the ball and shoved it into a drawer in a Ziploc. Maybe it’s ready to come out and knit nice now. Maybe.
Time changes in our home are henceforth refered to as “Sadistic Chronology Switches”. Yesterday a co-worker espoused their environmental and economic virtues as I glowered at him through blurry eyes over a cup of coffee. Sorry to hear about the dark spot. This is where I would have contemplated continuing on and just dyeing the whole durned thing a dark color when finished. Frogging lace is right up there with root canals and time changes on least favorite things to do. At least it’s not mohair. Cheers!
Just a bit of a coincidence, maybe?!
Monday, March 9, Yarnharlot Calendar.
Three questions for a knitter having trouble:
#3. Are you sure that you wouldn’t be happier if you buried your project under a large oak tree in the park?
A Q-tip and some Tec in the red and white bottle from the hardware store. Tec is magical and in with other stain removers on shelf.
JEALOUSLY. You gave another appliance your positive attention. ALL of it.(Sir Washie) Try yelling at the vaccuum cleaner and putting it in its place rather loudly so the dishwasher can hear. Let’s just see if that helps – fear of equal treatment. It is like replacing a car part. The other parts get jealous, and they too start need replacing, one by one.
Hate it when wool rebels.
I’d ignore it.. but I’m like that.
Thnx for mentioning “Housekeeping” I’m listening to it – it’s beautifully written. I’m thoroughly enjoying it:)
I can’t help but hope the dishwasher fits through the doorways.. cause dude it’s looking like replacement time.
Will just say I love my new Kitchenaid…highly recommend.
I have the same problem with baby blanket I am knitting and mine is because of the needles. I am also going to try to wash it out because there will be no words to describe how angry I will be if I finish and find the stain doesn’t come out.
Clearly someone has taken this whole “Spring Forward” thing too far and believes that it is actually April Fools Day.
It’s the Knitting Fates. They are testing you. You had *such* good mojo going to organize the Sock Summit. But now… a tiny (!) test of your resolve and patience.
Fingers crossed for you that it will just wash out.
But , I warned you earlier – maybe that yarn doesn’t want to be *that* shawl. Sorry, I don’t mean that in a mean spirited way, just another way that the Knitting Fates play with us when they are bored.
Maybe try the Tide to go “pen”. It has been my experience that they get out just about anything! Good luck!
Did the dishwasher do it? It seems to have evil on its mind lately.
Greatest of sympathies and I REALLY hope it washes out. You’re trying peroxide-based cleaners, right? (ie. anything with Oxy in the name. I’ve happily used oxy carpet cleaners on clothing to great effect.)
I’m working on your snowdrop shawl. Okay, it’s my shawl but your pattern. So the other night I spent hours picking up for the edging, wrong # of stitches, rip and try again. I got close to the right “rate” of pickup, but find that I still have 7 extra on one side and am 13 short on the other (out of 218 on each side, sigh). Shall I fudge it while knitting on the edging, or rip out and try yet again? Dropping 7 st out of 218 is easy enough but finding 13 new ones may be trickier. And I don’t get to that until knitting on side 2, making it harder to fix if it just doesn’t work. And should I mention that for me the only knitting chore worse than picking up stitches is weaving in ends?
I think I know the answer, just putting off the inevitable. All of this is the long way of saying I really do feel your pain.
Could you replace just that section ? Use a needle to follow the ins and outs of the dirty part with clean yarn, and then remove the dirty part? Probably you don’t want ends to tuck in… just a thought. It is probably what I would do (have done). Unless it’s going to bug you… 🙂
I think the shawl is in cahoots with the dishwasher — they’re testing you! But seriously, like Nan said, try the Coke cure. That stuff removes anything — my family used it to strip a 50-year-old linoleum floor! I’ve gotten bloodstains out of jeans following bicycle mishaps and cherry slurpy out of my car carpets.
Which makes you wonder what it’s doing to your stomach . . .
Don’t give up on this difficult project-it just needs extra loving- try Oxy-clean- mix as directed then dip a washcloth and clean the offensive dirt off- good luck
My condolences – but I hope you find something to remove the yarn discolouration (and blog about it).
I expended a large (for me) amount of money on a large ball of cotton yarn to knit Smiley Face washcloths as ’08 Christmas presents for several people.
They all needed cheering! One person was in long term care in hospital, another had recently been released from hospital (and is now teetering on the cusp of necessity for returning there) and the other had just moved into a supported care nursing home.
The first cloth was ok, but each of the next three has three dashes of “dirt” on various rows. (So you see – you’re not alone.)
I gritted my teeth and tried washing them – with Shout, the stain remover, having been applied.
Sigh. It didn’t work – at all.
Hope you have better luck.
Janey
janeyknitting AT yahoo DOT ca
I’m POSITIVE that it’s just dust. You’re not the kind of gal to leave saucers of bacon grease around I don’t think, so what else could it be?
You have two healthy, beautiful daughters. Make THEM wash the dishes and spend the money on yarn!
With all that you have been through with this lace thus far, I would have taken out a restraining order preventing it from being anywhere near me! At least for a while anyway, until I summoned up the strength to try again. My lace knitting is already enough of a challenge with out all the added crap that you are going through. Hang in there and knit on something else for a little bit.
Don’t sell yourself short. If you put the dishwasher back together, even if it doesn’t work, you are still ahead!
*crossing my fingers* for the stain to come out.
Daylight savings time… I LOOOOOOOVE. I instantly feel the heat of the warm weather and it totally ups my energy. :o)
Kim
Why don’t you just replace that bit by sewing in a new piece of yarn while taking out the old. That way you don’t have to rip back. If it is a nupp row though, you’ll have to rip.
some things are just cursed. like the small pick-up we had for a very short few months in 1985…or was it 1986?
Hope it washes out for you. I agree DST is stressful. Hopefully today will be better!
Chlorine bleach will eat the paint off the wall and the wood underneath. Not good for natural fibers. The blue Dawn should do the trick like others have suggested; Mane n’ Tail Shampoo [actually for horses] is also very safe for all of your dirty woolies. Excellent for lifting dirt Away from the fibers. And it works in cool water.
As for dishwasher wars, I surrendered last year. Still washing dishes by hand, letting them air dry and the DH puts them away. Not feeling smug here .. just would rather spend the money on something else. Like the Sock Summit 09!
Sorry, I just giggled over that. It’s just, it reminds me of the chapter about the yarn ball coming out of your pocket when you were sock knitting and didn’t have a pouch, and the elevator wool story, so forgive me. I really do hope it washes out. But if not, this whole shawl episode is going to make one heck of a chapter.
Awww…. hugs! now take a deep breath and 1) ignore dishwasher, allowing remaining kid to experience actual housework and 2) another deep breath, then wash and rip back only IF necessary. Yeh, I know. It’s a good theory, at least!
From the Sock-Shaped State, ==Marjorie (in the heel!)
Ouch! Hopefully it will come clean in the washing. Are you going to put it on waste yarn or just use the needles (looks to be metal and so might be safe) and spot clean?
Me? I’d have probably done the entire thing with weird stripy spot and all and then tried washing it. Not the best strategy.
My dishwasher is currently in the middle of my kitchen mocking me. It started leaking and my husband took the whole thing out and said “Oh yeah! I can fix this…but not until tomorrow.” So my kitchen is now in a shambles and I’m just trying not to go in there until it is all put back together.
I had to take a look at the picture a second time before I realized the stain was closer to the needle than to the cast-on edging. If you have to rip it out, it won’t be as much as if it were on the other side–small consolation, though.
Yeah, dishwashers. The last time we used ours, water covered the floor, coming thrugh the front panel (!). It’s old and we hate to ask the landlord to replace another major appliance–although a water heater is not technically an appliance–as this house will probably be a tear-down in a few years. Also, this year he did NOT raise the rent. I don’t really mind hand-washing dishes as there are only two of us at home now.
I’m sorry. I don’t know which is worse, the stain or the dishwasher.
I don’t know if this helps, but it looks like I have the same dishwasher as you and I have to occasionally take off the frisbee-looking-thing with the arm attached to it, then the cover below that. Underneath there is a filter that gets jammed up with all the things my kids deem dishwasher worthy (food bits, lego, plastic wrap, etc).
That’s how I end up with UFO’s. Hope it washes out. That yarn should feel privileged to be in your hands!!!
Did you check to see if your dishwasher is being recalled? Is it possible to recall yarn? It sounds to me that knitting a pair of wonderful socks might be the order of the day to give yourself a break from the shawl project. One stress at a time please!! 8)
I feel your pain. My first lace stole is 85% done, and I just made a huge error that I can’t seem to figure out how to fix. I have been ignoring it since Friday, but I have to get this gift done soon. Sometimes, I think the knitting gods just like to play with us to see just HOW far they can push us before we snap.
Good luck washing it!
I do hope that the stain comes out, but in the event it doesn’t, have you considered dyeing the finished shawl a darker color that would cover the stain?
I hate to say it, but maybe you should give this project up. Find one that will love you, not fight you.
Knitting exists to remind us of our flawed humanity. We aren’t perfect and need to learn to accept minor imperfections (like your line). I can’t imagine that many people would look at that gorgeous shawl and find any fault. Or dirt.
I’m sorry about the soiled bit. Did you try a light vacuum in case it was just tenacious dust?
Congrats on the mention in The Star today. Kinnearing seems to be fully integrated into society now.
http://www.thestar.com/Entertainment/article/599306
Now I have to clean the tea that ended up all over the keyboard when I read about your shawl. The calendar entry for today and the coincidence of the demon shawl project had me laughing too hard! That and the prayer that Kim shared!! Genius!! Tea everywhere. 🙂 I do hope the smudge comes out of the yarn easily, and that the dishwasher is only having a tantrum, and not a total meltdown. Our dishwasher is named Martha, and I’d be lost without her.
Craptastic is such a fantabulous word. Hope it washes out! that’s a problem with white, maybe you should consider grey. or brown. brown doesn’t show coffee stains.
Oh dear, I guess that means I will be ripping back too! Peanut butter.
PS I think your diswasher and my dishwasher are friends.
So on my page a day calendar, put together by one Yarn Harlot, there are three questions one’s supposed to ask a knitter whose project has gone awry … and #3 is something about burying the project under a tree???
Just sayin’. Sympathetically, of course.
Gah. Well, at least you noticed BEFORE you finished the project. That counts for something, right?
Yee gods!
Time to break out the OXY Clean!
That’s what I used on the christening shawl when there was black spinning oil (shudders) on strips of the yarn.
Only discovered, of course, inches after having knit that area.
I was going to say Oxyclean too!
Steph don’t rip it- duplicate stitch that small section then clip and remove th offending part.
Sometimes yarn just doesnt want to be knit. I have a pair of socks I’ve been working on FOREVER. Those socks just dont want to be knit.
I know a product that will get that stain out! The final step to any project is washing and blocking. Have you tired Kookaburra Wash? Kookaburra Wash is wonderful for your new knitted or crocheted projects but Kookaburra Wash’s ability to clean and revitalize old projects we think will amaze you. If you haven’t tried Kookaburra Wash you should check it out! http://www.kookaburraco.com
Oh no! That’s horrible! The idea of ripping lace and re-knitting gives me hives! I am one who has to weave in a lifeline when I knit lace, and then I still mess up. Good luck!
Well… if the stain won’t come out, as long as you’re not married to the idea of it being white, I’d do something cool like dye it or paint it. Lots of tutorials on the innernets for that sort of thing. It would upset me, though, to find a stain.
OxyClean, definitely, it won’t hurt the wool like bleach. And better now than later, when the stain might actually *set in* (shudder).
I agree with Dorothy. Definitely bonus point for no left over parts. I admit that a dirty row like that happened to me a couple months ago on a snowy white scarf. I crossed my fingers and bleached the crap out of it. I was in denial, and on a deadline, so not eager to rip back and reknit. Luckily all’s well that ends well.
don’t you just want to cry? I was playing with my computer in the kitchen yesterday and the 6 month old puppy was playing in the living room. When all was too silent, I went to check on him to discover that he had “eaten” (not digested, just chewed and dismembered) both fronts to a sweater I was in the process of designing and knitting. He ruined the #6 circular needle while he was at it. It was so bad, I couldn’t get the pieces off the needle so had to cut them off. He has survived my wrath and the pieces are repaired but I came to the conclusion that some days are just not for knitting. Put it away until it calls your name again.
Good luck.
Judy
I wish you a mark that comes out with no problem, and a dishwasher that knows who’s boss.
And a clean house with no effort on your part!
Good luck on that last bit.
The dishwasher did it.
I think it’s lovely, I have no idea what stain you’re talking about…
This happens in needlepoint if you don’t wash your hands before each and every time you stitch with white yarn. There is no way to get it out. My condolences.
I’m sure it’s been mentioned considering the mass of comments… but over-dye it? If the stain/dirt/whatever doesn’t come out, I mean. That way you’re not ripping it back, and you’re not wasting more time than you need to.
It’s the full Moon after daylight savings and before the Solstice. It is Druid payback for the daylight savings business. I KNOW this is true.
Hi! I can totally relate to the time change thing – I just posted something about it today. I just started a blog, 2 entries so far, no visitors yet :o(, but I’m hoping I can find blogs I like (yours for instance) and get it going.
Anyway, sympathy for the diswasher (my garbage disposal developed a hole last week and blasted gunk all over the cabinet before I realized it) and the UTI – been there done that.
Come visit my blog and tell me what you think – I’m so new I’ll take all the help I can get.
sarahsheartstrings.blogspot.com
I feel ya on the time change thing, it wasn’t so bad the first couple of days, but it kicked my butt today. I also feel for you on the shawl, I have white lace weight that refuses to cooperate. I’ve tried to knit the bee shawl with this yarn 3 times now, its also tried to be a heartland shawl and another Evelyn Clark shawl that I don’t remember the name of. It gets one more strike before its way out (in clear tupperware prison under my bed for at least several months) I’ll work on my beaded shawl that is behaving itself like good lace should.
Holy Billy Mays Oxyclean on a Q-tip! Where’d dat come from?
If it was perfect how would we know it was handmade?
Oxyclean on a Q-tip sounds awesome. I’d be setting a lit match to it at this point myself.
Just lay it under the car and drive back and forth about 50 times. Everything will match perfectly.
Sorry, my comment was too negative. I’m a beginner and am just learning about time-outs.
Holy smoke! Dishwasher,DST,UTI and now a blemish on your white shawl-I’d rip it back & check the yarn inch by inch for more stains & then continue-LATER.
You will be in my home state on Sat,Wisconsin! The capitol,Madison is only 1 &1/2 hrs away;wish I could be there to hear you;good luck with all of your happenings & the stain.
This is seriously amazing. Oh, don’t rip, it is wool, it will clean I am sure of it. I do think the dishwasher misses Mr. Washie…maybe it should JOIN Mr. Washie (as if any of us has the dough to replace an appliance.)
Well, it happens. I can truly sympathize. We had services for our dishwasher on Saturday. My guys at the range helped me set it up at the 50yd target area and we gave it a grand send off. Took 1 whole brick ( I of course provided this as it was my deceased) of shells. A 200 round salute. What a lovely send off! The scrap man was happy for the metal and it was so lovingly disassembled as well. Did you know that a dishwasher can indeed fit into a laundry basket?
Now don’t get the idea that I am violent. I love trap shooting, not bird shooting. It is great therapy when you find that the last 10 hours of happy productive knitting on the lace shawl for your Momma was knit in the pattern for the shawl for your daughter. Of course it would have been no issue had the patterns been the same. Twitches.
I have discovered that the great hole left by the dishwasher (piece of crap, may it rest in pieces) works quite well with pull out shelves. Who knew? I have a place for my pots and pans now. hmmm.
If the stain does not remove easily with cool water and a blotting cloth, how about just removing the stained wool. Think about how you put in an afterthought pocket. Take out the offending yarn and stabilize the live sstitches. Instead of kniting a pocket, just rethread good yarn back through with a tapestry needle and carry on. Think of it as a repair instead of a rippit.
I’m wondering if lighting a candle and praying to the knitting gods will help?
That is very freakin’ harsh. And the perfect reason for only ever knitting in grey.
I’m definitely not mentioning the PI shawl here….. 😉
I don’t think “time saving” appliances save any time at all, save the washing machine. For the last 10 years I have not had a dishwasher and miss it only when the kitchen light fixtures need that disgusting layer of dirt, dust & grease removed – they are the *best* for that.
I like idea that another commenter had about the “afterthought” repair. It makes sense to me and would serve me just fine, but I wonder about you….I think yer a little too much of a perfectionist to do that….because then every time someone told you how gorgeous the shawl is, you’d feel compelled to show everyone exactly where the soiled bit was…..
I truly do hope the whole shawl turns out well for you but also for me because, even tho’ I’ve almost cast on for one myself 3 times in the last week, I keep thinking about yer struggles and I get scared right out of it again.
Nightmare! Fingers crossed it washes out. I think I would’ve cremated that shawl in a ritualistic burning by now, on a beach somewhere, while I danced around its flaming remains, probably nude.
But that’s just me.
Isn’t there some factoid about Persian & Asian rug makers who intentionally work mistakes into their rugs because only God is capable of creating something perfect? This could be your acknowledgement of that.
The very same moment you started this project I started Lace Socks, and I already ripped them three times.
Still on the first heel now, but determined to go on….
Problem is, I am able to fix wrong stitches by dropping a few and repair with crochet hook, but have no clue, how to do this with lace.
If I just do one more mistake I will try Emily’s ritual, but I am living in mid of Germany with still less than 10C.
So no beach and definitely not nude. 🙂
so what? there’s a streak of beige in your ceam shawl. accept the yarn for what it is; a beautiful hand-made article, that has imperfections that all humans have.
maybe the lesson to learn is not how to do estonian lace, but how to accept slight imperfections out of your control and move on. it’s the age-old youga lesson; what matters is not the situation, but your reaction to the situation.
1. Take a large, slow breath. 2. Pour a small glass of wine. 3. Begin to sip wine. 4. Begin exorcism ritual, complete with most vile curses. 5. Dunk lovely shawl sprout in soap and water. 6. Hang to dry. 7. Pour larger glass of wine. 8. Dance with a copy of each of your books in your arms to remember that you are brilliant, creative, and a knitter who is not to be trifled with, Yarn Demons bedamned.
Does the shawl HAVE to be white? could you thumb your nose at the knitting goddess and keep right on knitting if the stain doesn’t come out, and dye the finished shawl a lovely colour that is darker than the grimey bit? that’s show her for messin’ with yoou!
Is it wrong that I would leave that in and call it a design feature? (Yes. Yes, Amy, that’s completely wrong… whimper in a corner for your sins.) Okay.
I am so sorry. I agree with trying to wash it out, or just wait and dye it up after.
Hope it works.
I’m so glad to see that the dirt came out.
I have a class of projects that I term “CPB”. That’s for Cursed, Plagued, and Blighted. I’m trying to train myself to recognize them, and rip them out immediately and come up with a new plan (or at least set them aside for a good rest and contemplate them later).
Your shawl is too lovely for that, though.
Dear Yarn Harlot.
I too have a craptastic shawl that I am knitting from the Estonian Lace Book. I am working with a sumtuous fcashmere and silk yarn that is a cream color that is knitting up with clumps and streaks of grey.
I was wondering if you were using addi lace circs, because my knitting friends seem to think it is a reaction of my natural body acids and the brass needle.
So. what needle are you using?
Thanks for sharing your craptastic problem with us, I am not alone!
Nolaknit
Oh, don’t you hate bad knitting karma???!!!
Go be nice to small animals or something…maybe that will help.
If not…have a beer…the dirt won’t be so noticeable after that. :/
Sending good washing vibes your way.
I am so way behind with reading the posts that meanwhile you are a lot more famouser and all.
I had that streak thing happen to me once too and I think it’s not dirt.
There is one of two things going on here:
It’s some kind of spinning oil.
Or it’s grey wool carded in. (The latter is what had happened to my white wool. All natural grey sheep’s wool carded in.) You may have more spots than that coming up.
I hereby absolve you from all wrong doing.