A Sense of Accomplishment

After the frustration of knitting, and tinking and frogging, and knitting and tinking and frogging some more, this weekend I managed to find a sense of accomplishment.

Friday evening, I knew I was too tired to do any good on the Mystery Shawl, so I left it in its half-frogged state. It took a lot of self-control not to cast-on again right away. Especially since the 3rd clue was being released in the morning along with the first clue for the Halloween Mystery Shawl. Instead, I cast on for my Shades of Green Clapotis (link to Ravelry), (to keep up with the Second Wave Clapotis KAL) and only after carefully weighing my yarn. I got through most of the increase sections and then off to bed -- without having to tink or frog. (Ahhh -- success)

Saturday morning found Bruce & I at an APDT Rally trial. This was our first indoor Rally trial as well as our first foray (outside of Wednesday class) in public without The Husband. Bruce is a very soft dog and because he's so soft, he's very shy and easily scared, and I didn't realize it until he had developed a few issues. We've been working the past two years to get to the point where he can compete in conformation. (If I took him into the ring, he'd either bolt the minute the judge approached him, or would bristle up, barking seriously and would get excused.) My goal for Saturday, was to not be excused. Bruce did really well, he was nervous, but still managed to maintain his cool. We made it through the course but we NQ'd because I gave him a treat at the wrong point. No big deal -- I was thrilled that he made it around the course even though he wasn't always focused on me (okay - he barely focused on me). Our second run, was much better and not only did he not freak out -- we managed to get a qualifying score. So Bruce has the first leg of his Level 1 title. Here's a picture of his ribbon:

(Bruce is secure in his masculinity and is not upset about the pink 5th place ribbon.)

Saturday afternoon, I was super tired and didn't want to risk doing horrible things to the Mystery Shawl, so I continued on with my Clapotis. Until I took a nap. When I woke up, refreshed and revitalized, I re-started the Mystery Shawl. I didn't finish the entire first clue and when I got tired -- I switched back to the Clapotis. (Aren't you proud of me???)

Sunday morning -- Bruce & I were back at the Rally trial. He was even better at paying attention to me outside of the ring -- not so much in the ring though. He was also pretty tired. We NQ'd the first run -- my fault because I didn't do the correct thing at the sign. The 2nd run -- we lost 20 points out of 200, but then got the full 10 points for the bonus -- but we were over time. :( But, he sniffed and allowed somebody to pet him. He didn't flip out when somebody walked behind him. It was an awesome weekend for us.

Sunday afternoon -- back to the Mystery Shawl and I have diligently been putting in lifelines -- you can see them in these pictures:

Now I feel like I accomplished something.

When I got tired, I switched back to the Clapotis. Here's what it looked like today:

The increase sections are done, and I'm working on the fourth of the straight series. I used this information to figure out how many straight sections I could do. I came up with 8.8125. So now I'm thoroughly perplexed -- do I dare go for 9? Or play it safe with 8?