Windfall

Oh wow! How lucky am I! I went to our Transfer Station over the weekend, and the attendant said he recalled I worked with yarn - would I like to take all the yarn left there recently, so he didn't have to deal with the dregs that would be left straggled all over the place after people had picked over it?

Would I? Ooh, yes, please. My supplies were so low that I'd stopped making things since there wasn't enough yarn to make anything worthwhile.

So I got started, thinking there was no point in making something simple or easy. BTDT. A challenge was what I needed, I thought, getting my knitting needles out instead of my crochet hook, and started following the directions on the back of the yarn wrapper. Sheez, it was difficult - I think I found my level, or my limit, so for sanity's sake, I decided to change the garment from a patterned blouse to a patterned shawl. 

The pattern I'm following is a complicated sequence of stitches, repeated every 4 rows, each of which has a different rendition of the stitches to create a lacy chevron pattern. It takes me 45 minutes to do those four rows! And if I do it whilst watching TV ... well, I end up having to pull the row out and start again.

I like the look of this delicate pattern and yarn. Now to get the repeats consistent and even throughout.

This is what the pattern instructions look like - I found the layout and print size too confusing, so copied out the 4 important rows onto lined paper in large letters.