Drama

My first real lace project:

Adamas Shawl by Miriam Felon
Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb - Color 307 (turquoise)
US 5 Needles
Mods: 1-2 fewer repeats than in the pattern

I know that this was my first lace project (using real lace yarn, blocking...), so there are bound to be mistakes. But, there were real issues with this one. The pattern was well written, fun to knit, and has made a beautiful shawl. The yarn is very soft, very fine (maybe a bit fragile), and I love the color (I picked this color to go with this orange/red dress - my wedding dress this summer).

So, here is what happened:
I cast off the wrong way - I got excited that I was done with the shawl and just cast off instead of checking the pattern. I thought, no big deal... Well, as I was blocking the shawl, I felt a give and looked and saw that something snapped in the middle of the cast off row area and had unraveled a significant amount already. It would not be easy (or probably possible) to fix this area by picking the stitches up again. I sat there, thought about crying (I've been working on this for a month), and just stared at the wall for a while. I thought about just giving up, but then found the broken ends and tried to rip side to side. That didn't go well, it lead to unraveling in other areas. So, I got out the scissors. And cut. Across the shawl, under the affected areas. I then found the first row unaffected and unravelled that, picking up stitch by stich as I did that.

2-3 hours of my life, but I saved the shawl.

I think I lost 2-3 pattern repeats (really, I was panicking a bit when this happened and I wasn't paying attention at first, or when I cut). I knit one more repeat, then cast off the right way, then blocked it.

Fine, all better, right?

Then, as I was taking pictures with the timer, my camera fell off my counter and the lens was visibly displaced and wouldn't extend/retract. I thought, why did I have to fix the shawl, if I hadn't my camera would be ok! I really like my camera, and don't want a new one. Its about 4 years old, and takes great pictures. It was still making the mechanical noises, so I took the little screws out but couldn't get the camera open (I don't really know what I would have done if I accomplished that, but taking the screws out made me feel like I was at least trying to do something). I checked Kodak's website, and found out I would have to send the camera in and pay $150. Not good. So, I sat on the carpet, and made the camera make the mechanical noise, and jammed the lens back into position. And it worked. The camera seems to be fine (the lens cap doesn't stay on, but thats really nothing). And I was very happy to get out of making this shawl in one piece. Should I really wear it to a wedding, is it cursed?