wifeKnits

The Lace Shawl

I’m really enjoying working on the the lace shawl, even though I rarely actually sit down and work on it. I have been a bit hesitant because I don’t want to mess up and I haven’t had a chance to go get something like a magnetic board to hold my place on the chart.

But I sat down in my office during lunch to work on it and found a great way to keep track. I have a row counter to keep track of the rows I’ve completed. I blew up the charts from the pattern and re-printed them so that I can see them better. That helps. I placed them flat on my desk and used a ruler to "underline" which row in the chart I’m working. I’m using stitch markers to mark the repeat section because I know if I don’t I’ll get confused.

One thing that is frustrating me though is that I keep forgetting to work the chart left to right on wrong side rows. So I start counting to make sure my stitches are correct and they aren’t. I freak out, rip back to the previous row, then realize they are right, I’m just looking at the chart backwards.

I haven’t placed any lifelines yet. I’m not sure where to put them, plus I’m not sure what yarn to use. I’m working the shawl in DK weight yarn on size 7 needles, so I guess fingering weight sock yarn would work. I’ve also been holding off because I ordered the Options set from KnitPicks (woohoo!, happy birthday to me!) and I’m sort of waiting for those to come in. They have those little holes that you can thread some crochet cotton into and lifeline as you knit. I think that would make it easier. And I have loads of crochet cotton I can spare.

Posted in Lace | No Comments

Stitch Markers

As promised, here’s a few photos of my new stitch markers.

Posted in Knitting | No Comments

Short-row Heel

I worked my first short row heel tonight. It was pretty easy with the instructions I was using. I’m doing the toe-up version of the campfire socks by Cider Moon. Instead of following the instructions in the pattern for the heel, I used a tutorial at CosmicPluto Knits. It worked like a charm and my heel came out pretty good for a first attempt. And using handspun yarn makes it all the better, because the stitches blend making the short rows somewhat disappear. 

Here’s my pretty heel:

Posted in Socks | No Comments

More Stitch Markers

Yesterday I spent some time creating more stitch markers. These are slightly different in that they are strung on a wire instead of on a head pin. The wire is bent over and both ends are strung through the beads then crimped together. I love these better than the other ones and I think they will work better for my lace project since the wire is much finer than the little bracelet hoops I was using and it will mold better to my needle. I didn’t get a chance to take pictures, but I will as soon as I have a moment to do so and I’ll post them.

Posted in Knitting | No Comments