Frustration

So there I was knitting away on the WRS and all was going well. I came to row 42 and hit a problem.

I'm doing the "Alternative Centre" (ie not the one that Sharon herself made). Row 41 is a plain knit row, except for where you work a knit and a purl into the double YO of the previous row and also into a single YO, thereby increasing one stitch. The problem is in the 16 st R. H. section. Before working row 41 the stitch count for this section is 16. After working the section the stitch count is 17 (because of the K,P into the single YO of the row before). All well so far. However, this section on row 42 requires 16 stitches (and ends up with 16 stitches). No matter what I did, I still had the same problem.

I cast on with some spare cotton and fatter needles and did the section again. (Twice.) I counted and re-counted. I pored over the chart and tore out some hair. I still came up against the same problem.

Eventually, I sent an email to Sharon herself and asked about the problem. She has been great - replied to my original email within minutes and said she'd have a look and get back to me, which she duly did. She doesn't seem to think there is a problem but I am convinced that there is. I let it bug me for a day and a half and then decided that it was one stitch out of thousands of stitches and I should just decrease it away and be done with it. That's exactly what I did. On row 42 I did K3tog instead of the very last K2tog of the row. Stitch count is now fine. I'll be very interested to see what happens on the next repeat of rows 41/42 - if there really isn't a problem there shouldn't BE a problem but if the stitch count really is off (which is my belief) then the same thing will happen again. We shall see.

Here's the scrunched up mess on row 50:



Close-up of the "two rings" motif:



and the whole thing, spread out as best I can:



While I was trying to sort out the difficulty on rows 41/42, I did a little work on the Burda Tablecloth, which feels like knitting with Aran yarn on tree trunks up to the WRS:



There has been little progress on the Kimono Jacket, since it is too hot to be bothering with wool. I don't suppose that will last long but just so you can see the delights of the rural backwater at the height of an English summer, I give you the view down to the river Stour:



Photograph courtesy of one or other of my pair.