But I Don’t Like It and Other Things

First things first, Sweep in Peace is out from Graphic Audio and their Orro is fantastic. “Bring your small demon!” To review a sample and order, click here.

State of House Andrews: today is the day we finish the copy edit of Ruby Fever. We have one more beta read to read through, then we need to write an epilogue scene, and then we will send it to our lovely editor and to a couple more beta readers.

Almost done with that book. I cannot explain how happy that makes me. The majority of the work is done. Only the proofread and minor adjustments will be left. Effectively, we’ve finished our obligations. Once we click send today, we are basically free agents.

Also today is the zoom call with Nora, the person behind all of the Graphic Audio adaptations and the voice of Dina, so we can go over the pronunciations for One Fell Sweep. And then taxes. We need to print, and sign, and upload, and bleah.

Our agent has our new proposal, so something may come of it or something may not.

So I have started that Mkal knitting project. I really liked the shaping of it up until I came to the color work section.

I don’t like it.

There are some parts I like. I like this bottom edge.

It’s neat and makes me happy. I like the colors. I like the initial dark and light triangle.

I don’t like the colorwork. At all.

I am pulling that light stitch across rows, just slipping it, and that is not my favorite technique. I don’t mind slipping it for a couple of rows, but I am slipping it across 4, I believe. It is stretched all the way up. Why not just carry the two colors instead then?

I don’t like the size of the rectangle. That bottom edge is all of the width we’re getting because the shawl is turning into a rectangle. A shawl should be large enough to wrap yourself in. This shawl will be about the width of the rectangular kitchen towel, if you lay it with the short side toward you. That’s not a shawl. That’s a scarf or possibly a stole.

Also, I am a firm believer that a shawl should be reversible. I like to drape them.

This is not a reversible shawl, because the colorwork is done in stockinette and you are slipping stitches on the wrong side. Any fancy draping you do with it will show the reverse side.

It’s my own fault. I wanted to be surprised and didn’t do my research. This is the previous work by the Lyrical Knits, the Knights Who Say Knit.

If you click through to Ravelry and look at the pictures, you will see people holding it very carefully so one doesn’t see the reverse side. You kind of have to drape it over yourself like the stole of Catholic priest vestments.

So I still love the colors. The yarn is a dream. Miss Babs has outdone themselves with this base. The pattern is complex and pretty. No fault of the designer, but regretfully the pattern and I might have to part ways. Now the question is, what can I do with four colors, 490 yards each? I still want a fancy shawl. I might have to do a deep Ravelry dive today.