Correcting Mistakes

I agonized over this decision. As a nurse, I know that acrylic is the right choice for hospital lap blankets, but I have just been luxuriating in the lovely Shepherd baby wool. Would I have time to knit it before we see Grandma in May? Would she like the colours? I chose a pink, a dark plum and a varigated. I can mix them in an asymmetrical pattern. I can knit something much more spectacular, but it risks being stolen, or ruined in the laundry.
And then the truth. Is Grandma even going to survive her stroke? I decided it was worth plunging in.
I cast on with wooden needles to improve the aesthetic experience. But I decided to make 5 huge squares and one square made of normal sized. 144 stitches. Obviously I wasn't thinking. The weight on the needles seriously hurt my right hand. An old riding injury, I have to be careful to protect it. So I switched to circular- which I have in wood anyway.
Then lastnight, as I was watching a borrowed copy of "Little Mosque On the Prairie", I realized I did not have a mitred square, but something much more quantum. In Mason Dixon, they have this alternating rhythm of decreases which was obviously beyond my little grey cells. I'm so embarrassed. Don't tell Lara of Math4knitters.
I ripped out (third time, ribbit, ribbit) and restarted. This time I marked the centre for simple decreases on both side, and the tension is much better. Phew. I can pick it up and knit part of a row. I can enjoy the amazing pleasure that is diminishing length of stitches each row. As if I didn't like knitting. Oh well. I'm glad I started with the pink- easier to see mistakes, I thought. So really, I was setting myself up for success. After a few false starts.

Claudia's Blog has a robin story today, so I thought I'd share my latest encounter.

This is right outside the window where I study. Thanks, Respiratory is almost finished. On to Musculoskeletal. I think I freaked the robin out when I started practicing my flute. Thanks, the Scherzo is coming along and the duets are great fun.

You can see the nest on the upper right hand corner of the window. My desk is up against this window. I put out some lovely purple yarn snippets to apologize to the fat, fat robin. Hope she and her true love return.