Finally Fetching

The yarn: Rowan Tapestry, 70 percent wool, 30 percent soybean protein fiber

The pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Naimath, from Knitty's Summer '06 issue

I started these mitts months ago and worked on them now and then. I had such trouble with the picot edging -- and so I'd knit a bit, rip out, knit again, put them away and pretend they didn't exist, pout, buck up, and try again. I'm still am not happy with the results. But by God they're finished.

My first attempt was a total disaster because I knitted the last section in the car while the instructions were 30 miles behind me, in the bag in the living room. So much for bravado. The next attempt was much better. And the edging on the second mitt even better, though still a little uneven and amateurish. How frustrating is that? It's not a particularly difficult pattern, and the cabled cast-on in the picot edging isn't a difficult technique. I just seem to have a mental block there, keeping me from mastering it.

It kind of reminds me of my high school shorthand class. (That dates me - do they even teach Gregg Shorthand anymore?) I aced dictation at 100 words/minute and 120 words/minute. But 110 words/minute - what a mess. I failed that level time after time, and I honestly think the teacher took pity on me and slipped in a 120 and called it 110 just so we could move on.

There'll be no such tricks this time. I have another ball of Tapestry. I shall persevere.