Some knitters talk about "sleeve island."

I think working on long shawls, where you're mostly repeating the same thing over and over again, is kind of like being becalmed in the Sargasso Sea.



(Except it's a little more pleasant, and there's no risk of having to eat the horses that were originally intended for sale to caballeros on the Pampas.)

I spent yesterday evening knitting on Clapotis (Even though it's a raspberry color, it seems to blend awfully well with my wood floors).

Here's a truer-color picture, showing the six "ladders" that have already been formed.



For the non-knitters: I think this pattern is popular for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's fairly basic - once you have the pattern set up, you can motor along without too much thinking (although I think that also turns some knitters off of the pattern). It also showcases pretty yarn well - the original pattern calls for a (very pricey) hand-dyed wool-silk blend (I'm using something called Cleckheaton Country Silk, which is a considerably more reasonably-priced wool-silk blend). It's also pretty when it's finished up, and easy to wear well and look chic in.

But I think the main attraction, actually, are the dropped stitches. See, in knitting (this is still directed at the non-knitters in my audience), dropping stitches is BAD. It's something you don't want to do. Even worse, on this shawl you let the stitches ladder down - very much like a run in a stocking. Again, that's BAD. That's something you'd normally gasp in horror at if it happened - and either rip back the entire piece, or cry a little and go looking for a crochet hook to help you fix the problem.

But here, the BAD thing is supposed to happen - you get to do something a little bit bad, a little bit "naughty" almost. Kind of like getting the can of Reddi-Whip out of the fridge, looking around to see if anyone's about, and squirting a big glob of it directly in your mouth. Not something civilized people do (at least, if someone's watching).

And unless you're one of the original punk-rock knitters (which really, few of us are), you have few chances in your life to do something that's BAD, get away with it, and actually be able to show it off as a design feature.

And it is kind of fun laddering that dropped stitch down - it's a little bit like burning your Organic Chem notes after the class is over, or like going to the Goodwill and buying a cheap old set of china and using it for target practice in the back yard when you've had a bad day. I suppose one could even say, "This one's for....." and fill in the blank with any person or thing or situation that's been ticking you off, and as you unravel, imagining unraveling the bad that that person thing or situation has brought to your life. It's a little bit cathartic.