A Lesson Learned?

Five years ago I knitted an excruciatingly complex shawl.  "Europa" Crescent...tiny needles, lace weight yarn, nupps, double decreases, you name it... it's all there!  And I loved that shawl... even though I wore it mostly bunched up around my neck under a jacket where the lace features couldn't be appreciated.  And I lost that shawl.  I looked for it at the end of last year just as I wanted to pack it with me to Norway,  and I was SURE it was going to shake out of a sleeve or hanger.  But it hasn't, and I began moping...
No more than two minutes after completing my Mosaic Cardigan I went to my stash, and pulled out some lace weight I've had for YEARS, and I cast on---all 643 stitches for Europa Crescent II.

What have I learned from my past teeth-gnashing?  The cast on has to be loose to get "points".  So I dutifully used two needles, and so far...

looks like it worked.  And don't forget the "lifeline"!

After the pointy section of Chart A, I remembered why there was teeth-gnashing five years ago.  (Remember, Pattie?  I had Europa I on the Pacific Ocean.)  Nemesis chart B:  Nupps.  Since then, I attended a class with Nancy Bush, and she patiently showed us the beauty of nupps, and I swear I paid attention and I don't remember saying to myself that I would never do that again... however, trying to stick my needle through 4 stitches and 3 yarn overs to make one purl stitch umpteen times in the first row, I was having flashbacks of throwing a certain project overboard somewhere near the International Dateline.  

By the time I was halfway through the second row of nupps, I recalled that I had resorted to a tiny crochet hook which would "more successfully" do the trick.  I was still picking up stray loops, and picking up new (to me) vocabulary.  But I persevered until the LAST row of nupps.  

(Aside:  Looking at the above photo, I don't have the capability of putting in a giant ARROW to point to the many nupps...and the thought crossed my mind--WHY was I putting myself through this pain when I really didn't see them?  The truth...I remembered thinking the same thing 5 years ago, and when blocked, I could see them.  I don't know if anyone else could but...)  

So back to the last row of nupps.  Another thought... I wonder if "lace" tip Addis are made just for this type of knitting...?  And I went to my closet, pulled out the lace tip Addis, and... DANG!  It worked.  Now maybe, if I had started with lace tips, I wouldn't have thought of this as such an epiphany, but they sure made my LAST ROW of nupps less painful.  Will I remember?  Will I ever venture into nupp territory again?  I hope I'm quicker to use "the right tool".  Needles: 2.5 mm

Nupp:  Into one stitch k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1.
Next row: Purl all 7 together to make one stitch.