A Better Day

I finally finished the Orchid Lace cloth last night. After wrestling and tinking and swearing and all kinds of things, I finally figured out that Row 5 isn't supposed to have as many stitches as the other rows, and therefore I wasn't missing a stitch at all. (Oohhhhh! I get it.) So armed with that knowledge, and a much improved understanding of how the pattern went together and which part was just framing - as opposed to the actual leaves - I finally cranked this out.
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It's basically just the lace stitch from the orchid lace socks on craftaholic's blog (link in my earlier post), but where she had 2 stitches of stockinette on each side, I have 4 stitches of garter. And instead of ending on the 3rd repeat of row 10, I had to keep going another couple of rows to finish off the base of that last leaf. And of course, I have garter above and below as a border.

It's easily my favorite of the leaf-type laces I've swatched so far for the anniversary prayer shawl, but it's also easily the most of a PITA to do. If you miss a yarn over or miscount in some spot, it's not really obvious until you've finished the row, purled back, and then get to the end of the next row and find the wrong number of stitches left for your border. It's the kind of thing which shouldn't be done in front of the television, and which may cause me to invent some new four-letter words. But I'm sure it will get better with practice.

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And I found the mohair mobius wrap! Another project which can't be done in front of entertainment, since the very fine yarn has to be watched closely. But the colors are just the perfect antidote to a Wisconsin March, don't you think?
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As far as the church thing - I think I was making the same mistake that the minister does: confusing his philosopies and ambitions with those of the church. (This is something I constantly have to guard against, since in the church where I was raised, the pastor was the be all and end all of authority and his whims and ambitions were, by definition, those of the church.) I have to remember that this guy is just an employee, and no matter what he thinks of himself, he's not in charge or control of the larger picture. He's merely an annoying inconvenience. I go to church for the other people, for the sense of shared philosophy and values, for the joy of being part of a community. His sermons don't inspire me and I certainly don't see him as a role model, but I can put him aside mentally and still get plenty out of it. And there are often fill-in ministers who do challenge my ideas and efforts.
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My Dad used to say that "everyone is responsible for their own happiness," meaning you can't blame someone else for your own misery. I am beginning to think that everyone is responsible for their own spiritual growth as well.
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So be it.