finally got it started

I finally started knitting the x-back for my mom last night, after a complete knitting hiatus. I took out most of what I’d started already, leaving one ball’s worth knitted up to deal with later. So, a few details:

Yarn: Katia Ola #38 (blue and white stripe)
Needles: US 11
Size: S

I’m using 95 stitches instead of the called-for 96, becuase who in the world writes a pattern in seed stitch but keeps the number of stitches even! I knit up one whole ball last night.

Ribbon yarn really takes some getting used to. I am more than a bit obsessive about the tape not folding up or twisting into something small–ideally each stitch is a full width of tape lying on the needle. It’s something of a struggle at first, but eventually I get it. Took about half of the ball last night to get it; it also required a lot of untwisting, which the last x-back never needed.

Mom’s bday is July 25, so I have just a little over a month–should be no problem.