Preventative Measures

posted by Diana

It's not cold any more, so my sense of urgency to complete a knitted project just isn't there. All of this leisurely-paced knitting has led to a project backup... apparently, I've been knitting so slowly moss has started to form on my languishing projects.

On the way to Dark Hollow Falls

Not really... but my works-in-progress basket is full to bursting.

If this looks like a mess, that's because it is.

Even the hexagon blanket I wrote about in my first post isn't finished. I meant to be done with it by the end of the 2014 Winter Olympics, if that tells you anything.

But, among my hibernating projects, something is growing.

A bit blurry, but growing nonetheless.

It's the Elder Tree Shawl by Sylvia Bo Bilvia of Soft Sweater Knits & Fibres.  I've knit up her Lonely Tree Shawl pattern before, and the Elder Tree is essentially the same pattern, but with a simplified repeat so I can keep knitting until I run out of yarn. Most of her patterns produce trendy garments that are impressive-looking without being fussy and are inspired by nature--all things I look for in lace knitting patterns.

So, like I said, I can knit until I run out of yarn, or I can knit until I get fed up with this project... and I can't tell which is going to happen first.

Everything was going swimmingly. I was keeping track of my rows without a row counter. I hadn't messed up a single stitch. Then I dared to say--nay--to declare, out loud and to myself, that this shawl was going to be the most perfect thing I'd ever knit. As things always go when I'm feeling a bit smug, I messed up.

I had reached the end of my row and something didn't feel quite right. My stitches weren't adding up like they should have. So I counted. 94 stitches on one half; 95 stitches on the other. What a nightmare! Seriously though... one stitch might not sound like a big deal, but in lace knitting, that missing stitch could be hiding anywhere. And, when your project is full of intentional holes, the mistake isn't so easy to spot.

So I ripped back. It took about half an hour to un-knit two rows. For perspective, I had knit those two rows in about seven minutes. After counting and re-counting, it seemed that my stitches were finally back on track. So I continued.

I knit and I knit... then, just as I was feeling smug about overcoming my knitting hiccup with grace, my stitch count was off again. It was cute the first time, really, but spending an hour un-knitting this go-round made me mutter and swear like a sailor. To avoid finishing this shawl in a cloud of curses, I knew I had to put in a lifeline. I've never had to do one before (even though I probably should have), but this the largest scale lace project I've done since Emma's wedding blanket.

Lifelines are apparently a controversial topic, but I figure something called a "lifeline" can't be all bad. It's a strand of yarn thinner than your working yarn that is threaded through the active stitches. A lifeline is not knit into the project itself, so it can be pulled out when the project is completed, but, if you make a mistake, it allows you to rip back to a point where your stitch count was correct.

It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but my lifeline is the bright yellow crochet thread running alongside the purple needle cable (it's much easier to distinguish thread from yarn in real life).

Now that I have my lifeline in, I'm trying to knit a bit of optimism into my shawl. You know, instead of all that profanity it's been hearing.

Happy making!