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Washington Park Shawl
Mystery Knit Along 2015 Rose City Yarn Crawl Shawl

Dec 6
Purchased pattern and set up Project Page.
MKAL and MCAL 2015 Pre-Clue discussion

Dec 8
I know this calls for fingering weight, but I’ve got “easy to get to” lace weight in 2 colorways that look great together & I’d planned to make a shawl with them anyway, so I’m going to use lace weight doubled.

Since I can’t see the entire design it’s hard to know how to work the colors best, but I’ve got a total of 2,200 yds and even divided by 2 (doubled) I still have 1,100 yds which is 300 yds over the amount called for in fingering weight… so I ought to have a lot of room to play with these two colors. I need to cake these up, get pix for my Stash page of the Persimmon Heather & swatch.

Jan 25
All 5 hanks caked via nostepinne & Amish Swift… just after-crest of worst-of-flu symptoms. Caked 4 one day & felt like I ran a marathon the next day. LOL! Glad I only had one more to go! New pix of caked yarn & swatched yesterday.

~^~^~ Tip ~^~^~
Pix show how I manage working from inside and outside of a single ball of yarn with minimal tangles & tears: 1 quart zip bag, cut one bottom corner of bag through which the inside yarn end is threaded; outside end is worked from bag opening.

When there is any tangling it will be caused by the outside end getting wrapped around the inside end; being able to remove the ball to spin out the tangle from the outside end has proven over time to be the best set up. The first part of the ball is usually the worst for tangling but this keeps it easy to untangle & significantly reduces it from other things I’ve tried. I’ve yet to find a “tangle free” way to do it, but this system has worked the best I’ve found so far. (Which isn’t to say there will be no tangling, but far less than any other way I’ve found)

The quart size bag provides sufficient room for the outside yarn to unwind off the ball smoothly from an “average” size ball. I’m working my yarn double-stranded & have an odd number of the Shadow Tonal Queen Anne. I wanted to work my swatch from this one ball, so…

I just recently saw a new handy-dandy device that may work even better: Yarnit. It protects your yarn from dirt, debris, pets, and from tangling up in travel; a “parking place” for you needle tips between knit sessions. I’ve got one in my cart at Amazon (shipping is less).

January 26
Swatching done & needles waiting for the first clue so I can Cast On Wednesday! Wasn’t particularly excited… until now! Will work on finishing my mitts design to cool my jets until the clue pops up in my inbox &/or Library!

Jan 28
• 2015 Clue 1 MKAL Qs & Help (no spoilers) discussion
• 2015 Clue 1 MKAL Chat & Pix (spoilers) discussion

First clue is here! Shawl starts with a Garter Tab Cast On… my favorite shawl beginning! Last year’s knit designer made a YouTube video demonstrating the GTCO, which looks very good.

~^~ Clue #1 modifications/tips ~^~
• CO & knit Setup on 3.5mm needles; I like a snug, firm neckline
• CO 2 additional stitches for selvedge stitches on all rows:
… slip 1st st with yarn in front (sl1 wyif) every row
… knit last stitch every row
… equal: nice, clean, chain along edges
… remember to add 2 extra stitches to any row numbers given in pattern throughout to maintain these selvedge stitches
• purl one round before starting Setup row cuz I always get a ridge from picking up stitches on a Garter Tab and prefer that ridge be on the inside not the outside; not sure if the ridge is because I’m “doing it wrong” or if that’s just what happens, but it’s an easy fix… just work a row to make the ridge go to the WS, then start the design pattern from there if you find you’re getting a ridge where you don’t want one…
• Change to 3.75mm needles to begin Hoyt Arboretum Section
• Row 1 of Transition #1 I worked Row 1 of the Hoyt Arboretum Stitch Pattern Chart in the middle to “finish” the last leaf just a little more; I’m too OCD to leave it that open :-)
• PAY ATTENTION!!! Especially on the row after the pattern row… don’t get complacent; that’s where I drop stitches
• Stop knitting when I can’t pay sufficient attention and start making too many errors
~^~^~

I’m making it a point to try to knit from the chart as much as possible. This is a skill I’ve not mastered yet. The text and chart together on the same page with the legend of symbols makes it a lot easier to practice trying to divine the symbols before going straight to the text. If the symbol isn’t sufficient, then I go to the legend, if that is insufficient I scroll up to the steps the symbol tells me to do. I avoid looking at the text entirely as much as possible, mostly for confirmation after I’ve decided what the next step is if there is any hesitation. I’m hoping by the 3rd repeat of the chart I’ll have the symbols memorized at least to the point the symbol legend is a sufficient hint. (It has. The finished/complete pattern layout slightly different than MKAL “pieces” were, btw)

The knitting so far has been very satisfying and entertaining. Looking forward to the next set of clues!

January 30
Was ready to start the Transition Section last night when I decided the migraine & nausea had been tolerated as long as I cared to any longer & decided to stop & go to bed. I’m so glad I stopped there, cuz I looked at my work from yesterday this morning before starting and saw a couple things that didn’t look right and wasn’t to my liking.

Since I’ve got plenty of time to complete this clue & since this morning the head pain feels better (not gone, but definitely better) & no nausea, I ripped back to Row 9 of the second chart repeat & will rework the last half of the chart repeats. ::sigh:: But I know I’ll be happier if I do & knew I was risking this, working in as much pain as I was in yesterday. It isn’t just the pain, it also screws up my coordination, perception, and judgement, and I really ought to know better by now.

I couldn’t bear to leave the last leaf that open… row 1 of Transition #1, I worked row 1 of the Hoyt Arboretum chart in the middle section, to close it up the tip of the last leaf, just a little more. It seemed a worthy compromise. I had tried to be good and leave it, but… I just couldn’t. Tinked back and “fixed” it. :-) Won’t be able to knit much Thu for many reasons, if the day goes the way I’m expecting it will and depending on the nature of the next set of clues, & may not be a good idea cuz I’m gonna have a lot of interruptions all day.

Love the fabric and how the colors work with the lacework. Hope the next clue changes to the 2nd color cuz I’m dying to put it together with this!

February 3
Anxious for next set of clues!!!(Tomorrow!) Will try to get as much done as I can as soon as I capture the clue cuz I’m gonna lose a lot of knitting time on Thu if things go as I expect they will. Plus just remembered I have another little project I wanted to do before the Crawl.

February 4
• 2015 Clue 2 MKAL Qs & Help (no spoilers) discussion
• 2015 Clue 2 Chat & Pix (spoilers) discussion

Clue #2 is here! Quick glance (had rough night & my brain isn’t running on all cylinders quite yet) but if I’m reading this right, this section will be slipped stitch! YAY! I was toying with idea of maybe using one of each color in one of the sections anyway! Since I’m double stranding my laceweight yarns I was just gonna use one of each strand. This is so much better!

I will definitely, though, go up to 4mm needle for this section. I tend to knit tightly anyway & slipped stitches pull in tighter for me always if I don’t go up in needle size. I’ve gotten much better about “draping” the yarn over the slipped stitches so there is no tension, plus or minus, between the worked stitches, but especially working at “lace gauge,” I’ll be happier if I go up to 4mm from the 3.75mm I’ve been using.

SO excited with the way this is coming out! I’ve never done a mystery KAL. I’m so color-compulsive not being able to see the entire design first to see how I might want to coordinate the 2 colors is just a bit crazy-making! So I’ve really “put myself in the hands of” the designer and couldn’t be happier with how things are going so far! Can’t wait to get going on this section!

Danger! Danger! Pay really close attention on Row 4! Too easy to accidentally p2tog when the previous slipped stitch snuggles up right next to another stitch! ::ask me how I know::

Doggone it!!! Finished 1st 4 rows, knitted a few stitches of Color A row 1… and am horrified to find a dropped stitch… on row 1! Aaaaccckkk!!! I’m going to go back and start this whole part again because my stitch count has been right on flagging no problems, so I can’t figure out how I didn’t know a stitch was gone. I think I’ll be happiest in the end if I just frog back the 4 rows.

I’m also not getting the same degree of twist on the slipped stitches I think I should be. May have to purl through back loop or something to get it to twist up better. Not sure, but now happy with the way it just looks like a regular-but-long knit stitch. Before I rip it all back, think I’ll play with just a few rows on the one side and see how I might get a better twist on the slipped stitches…

… a cup of coffee won’t hurt either…

… cup of coffee did help. Purling through the back loop didn’t… all that did was remove any hint of a twist. Can’t figure out how to emphasize the twist, so unless I get an idea from somewhere else, I don’t have the whatever to try to figure out how to twist it better. I’m just gonna do the slip knitwise thing and leave it be. I’m not expecting to have a lot of knitting time tomorrow and just want to get as far along on this today as I can cuz I’ve got 2 other small projects I’d also like to get done by the time I’ve finished this MKAL and am anxious to get some knitting mileage on this section so I can appreciate its beauty! :-)

Now that I’ve played with my “twist it better” idea and found it to be an utter failure, I’m off to frog back to the beginning of today’s knitting and focus on getting as much of this clue done today as I can without going so fast I create more tinking and frogging opportunities. :-)

Happy now! This is my current modification…

What I had done the first time was:
R1: k2, YO, k2, * slk…
R2: k3, YO, * p3, sl…
R3: k3, YO, k4, * slk…
R4: k3, YO, purl…

This time, I did this:
R1: k2, YO, k2, * slk…
R2: k3, YO, * p3, slk…
R3: k3, YO, k4, * slk…
R4: k3, YO, purl…

Another tip I picked up from the MKAL thread: if my slipped stitches are not stacked on top of each other, my stitches &/or stitch count is off somewhere.

~^~ Clue #2 modifications/tips ~^~
• don’t miss any of the border yarn overs
• keep all my slipped stitches stacked
• slip all slipped stitches knitwise
• twist unused color at beginning of Row 3 to carry it up one side
• be careful to not p2tog on Row 4 where the slipped stitches snuggle up really close to the following stitch!
• make sure I’ve got 8 additional stitches after each 4 rows of knitting from increases
• don’t forget to add “2 sts” to pattern stitch count to account for the 2 selvedge stitches I’ve added; 1 on each edge

IF you are using two colors that aren’t high contrast (black/white; red/cream) there is another way to carry the yarn up one side that is essentially “weaving” the unused color between stitches on the edge. But if the colors are a high contrast to one another, it may not work because the unused color may show on the front side. In that instance, it is better to twist the unused color the way one does in stranded colorwork.

In this project, because the colors I used are so similar to one another, this is how I carried my yarn up the side:
• work the next to last stitch on the wrong side row
• loosely bring the unused yarn to the right side (front) of the fabric
• work the last stitch with the working yarn, over the top of the unused yarn
• turn to right side of fabric
• work the first stitch no the right side of the fabric with the working yarn
• loosely bring the unused yarn to the wrong side of fabric
• work the second stitch over the top of the unused yarn… the unused yarn has been woven into the edge stitches
• continue on with row
• always make sure the unused yarn is loose between the stitches so it doesn’t bunch up the edge

… the unused yarn is woven up the side between the last and second to last stitch on the wrong side row and between the first and second stitch of the right side row. Before working with the unused yarn again, give a good tug on the edge fabric to make sure there is no tension in the edge before making it the working yarn again.

Feb 5
I ended up having more time to knit today than I ever would have imagined! Combined with finding I’d memorized the pattern sequence by the end of the first color change, meant I could knit from memory rather than constantly referring to the pattern, which meant I could knit a lot faster. This Clue feels like “vacation knitting.” :-)

Finishing up the last color change and will have the entire clue - barring any snafus between here and there (added to ward off the knitting gremlins) - completed by bedtime! Amazing!

Won’t be able to get any decent pix until the weather clears… hoping for a sunbreak at some point tomorrow when I’m free to take some. No clear weather forecasted until after Clue #3 is scheduled to come out so my best hope is a break in the clouds/rain sometime before then. My first color doesn’t photograph well under our artificial light so I need at least some sunshine/sunlight to get a reasonably decent photo of colors.

Very happy with how quickly the Clues are going too. I had nightmare images of frantically knitting trying to keep up, more tinking and frogging than productive knitting because of trying to hurry, and lagging far behind schedule. So far, so good! I’m not letting my defenses down yet though… there are still 2 more sets of Clues… with more stitches with every row through at least Clue #3, and unless there is an edging instead of a border, more stitches for Clue #4. So I’m still holding my breath just a bit.

::countdown to Clue #3 begins… now…::

February 9
I am almost through the 1st ball of yarn, Color A, with which I started. Looks like one, maybe 2, more rows and that soldier’s done. Which leaves me with 2 entire unmolested cakes of the same color with which to finish, so there ought to be plenty for a pair of mitts in that color, at least. Hoping there will be enough of Color B to work some of that in too, but even double stranded, there should be enough of at least one color.

Started & finished another small project I wanted to do for the Crawl, and have made good progress on another, so I’m ready to focus on the next set of clues… already… hello? Is it Wednesday yet??? :-)

February 11
• 2015 Clue 3 MKAL Qs & Help (no spoilers) discussion
• 2015 Clue 3 MKAL Chat & Pix (spoilers) discussion

Clue #3 released this morning. Downloaded the PDF and looked over it. My first impression of what I’d do, based on what I subsequently saw questioned in the MKAL threads, wasn’t right. Given my brain is migraine-wonky and I’ve not got a lot of capacity for frustration right now, I’m not jumping into knitting until I’ve had some time to study the new section of knitting, work through it mentally to the point I’m confident I understand what I’m supposed to be doing… maybe work a swatch in other yarn to make sure… and maybe wait for the headache to get under better control, as it seems to be getting worse not better.

Later … okay. I’ve got it. Makes perfect sense once I studied the chart:

~^~ Clue #3 modifications/tips ~^~
• (can cut Color B… or continue to carry up side if one really detests weaving ends; I carried mine up the side cuz I detest weaving ends and it just isn’t that far before I’ll be using Color B again)

• Row 1… (PM = “place marker” or “pass marker”)
… k3, PM, YO, PM, * k6, p3, k1, repeat from * to marker, PM, YO, PM, k1, PM, YO, PM, * k6, p3, k1, repeat from * to marker, PM, YO, PM, k3

• optional - place an additional marker after 7 sets of charted sts or after every 20 sts to facilitate counting sets of repeats
• I added/changed placement of stitch markers to make this portion more “brainless” for me:
… k3
… 2 markers set off YO increases/knitting before chart
… right set of 10 st chart repeats (14 repeats)
… 2 markers set off YO increases/knitting before
… center k1
… 2 markers set off YO increases/knitting before
… left set of 10 st chart repeats (14 repeats)
… 2 markers set off YO increases/knitting before border
… k3
• now I only have to concern myself with the charted sts on the right side rows

• RS Row 3 forward…
… • k3
… • PM, YO, knit (increases by 1 from previous YO), PM (these 2 extra stitch markers sections off “YO, knit these stitches before repeating chart” stitches in subsequent RS rows)
… • repeat 10 chart sts across to marker (14 repeats)
… • PM, knit (increases by 1 from previous YO), YO, PM = centers charted pattern evenly between border and center back
… • k1 (markers isolate this 1 center st)
… • PM, YO, knit (increases by 1 from previous YO), PM = centers charted pattern evenly between border and center back
… • repeat 10 chart sts across to last 3 sts (14 repeats)
… • PM, knit (increases by 1 from previous YO), YO, PM (these 2 extra stitch markers sections off the knit these stitches, YO, after repeating chart stitches in subsequent RS rows)
… • k3
… YO increases on RS only - 4 per RS row

• WS: k3, purl to last 3 sts, k3 (no YO before/after)
• once all 22 rows of chart have been worked…
• work Transition #3, removing stitch markers as they appear (4 rows)
• cut Color A (done with that for rest of project), attach Color B (if not carried up side), work 1 row as set up for last part of shawl, which obviously will be worked in Color B

A cup of coffee, some protein, and another Excedrine Migraine helped. A lot. Depending on how migraine behaves, may get a lot farther on this than I initially thought I might.

Off Ravelry, onto needles…

… note: used very last of 1st/single ball of Color A a few stitches into Row 3 of Rose Garden chart! That’s one ball of yarn, used double stranded - both inside strand and outside strand of a single ball of yarn! I’d have never dreamed it’d have gone that far!!! So I’m not even breaking into the other 2 full balls of Color A until the 3rd row of Rose Garden chart. Amazing.

February 12
Not a lot of knitting will get done today but my stitch marker placement has made the knitting I have been able to do practically brainless!

By the time I’ve worked the 10 st chart repeat the 3rd time of each new pattern row, I’ve memorized it. And I’ve been reading the chart without having to look up the symbols! I’m so excited because this is the first time I’ve felt totally comfortable working strictly from a lace chart. I learned all the symbols with the Hoyt Arboretum chart by the time I got about halfway through the second repeat. I haven’t needed to recheck even one symbol with the Rose Garden chart! Serious progress there. :-)

I was very unsure about doing a mystery KAL, sight unseen project, under a deadline that felt very constrictive. There are lots of shawls I just plain don’t care for & wouldn’t care to knit. So before I decided if I’d jump in or not, I went to the designer’s Ravelry Shop page to get a feel for her style. I really liked the sense of her taste & decided it was probably a low risk that I’d hate the design or the project. I’m happy to report my instincts were on target! So far I love the design and I’m looking forward to wearing it for the Crawl next month.

February 13
… that’s Friday the 13th for those keeping score.

Spent too much time on Ravelry this morning, but I’m more than halfway through the chart and my head is almost clear of migraine “scratchings” so think it is still realistic to complete this clue by bedtime today (barring any shenanigans from the knitting gremlins, of course).

… loving this knit!

Later… okay. I confess. I am maintaining the asymmetrical placement of roses in the Rose Garden chart. However I’m adding ½ of the chart to the right and left of the charted stitches on each half…

… in other words… at Row 11 of the chart forward
• Right half: in front of the regular charted stitches of the first part of this section… starting 5 stitches early, work the LAST 5 stitches of that chart, then the 14 repeats of the full 10 st chart… then the FIRST 5 stitches of that chart;
• continue in pattern to…
• Left half: right before the regular charted stitches… starting 5 sts early, work the LAST 5 stitches of that chart, then the 14 repeats of the full 10 st chart… then the FIRST 5 stitches of that chart;
• continue in pattern…
• this places one half of the chart on each side of the full-repeated charted stitches on the last 11 stitches; maintains the asymmetry, but “balances out” the stockinette sections in a way I can live with. ;-)

Note: if you have your stitch markers set up the way I have mine (Feb 11 notes ^), these half-chart stitches are worked inside the 2 stitch markers just before/after the border stitches where YOs are added on the right side rows. (See pix under date “2/13/15”)

I just couldn’t deal with the huge “gap,” particularly in the center section on each side. It just felt too “wrong” to my senses and I knew I’d never be happy with it. But, it is still asymmetrical! Win-win! (Next time, I’ll mirror the right and left placement of rosebuds as a few others have done… just like it better)

February 14
Happy Valentine’s Day! I started mine with a breakfast of strong coffee & Excedrine Migraine under dark gloomy skies and a sleep mask to block the little sunlight there was. But the sun broke about the same time my headache improved, so it turned out to be a nice day, all things considered, after all.

Finished Clue #3 last night… well… technically… it was this morning… but… really glad I tinked back the first 3 rows of the second half of the Rose Garden Chart and added the broken-halves to each side of that second, asymmetrical, segment. It is still asymmetrical but I really prefer having the “holes” on each side filled in with part of the chart.

I’d have never been happy with it as written. I love this shawl design too much to succumb to having something I could easily “fix” annoy me forever. I love all the other shawls, the color combos are so awesome, but I see those gaps at the center back and it drives me nuts! It’s a completely personal problem, but I’d have never been happy with the shawl if I’d done it that way. Just challenges my “symmetry gene” beyond tolerance level. LOL! I know I’m not ever gonna want to rip the last portion back to fix it later, so I’m really glad I listened to that little voice screaming like a banshee to take care of it now, while it’s easy to take care of! I love my shawl now in a way I wouldn’t have if I’d not listened and tweaked that one little thing. It was worth it to tink back and do it before I even see Clue #4. :-)

Posted pix from last night - with stitch markers still in place - and Clue #3 completed this afternoon. Countdown to final Clue #4 has commenced!

February 18
• 2015 Clue 4 MKAL Qs & Help (no spoilers) discussion
• 2015 Clue 4 MKAL Chat & Pix (spoilers) discussion

Fourth & final Clue arrived today. I’ve been a little preoccupied with other things and wasn’t able to actually start knitting until this evening.

The final clue is for an edging… meaning the stitches are worked perpendicular to the rest of the shawl stitches. This is called an “applied edging.” A number of stitches are cast on from the last stitch (edging rs), then the edging is worked back (edging ws) toward the shawl (rs) edge. The last stitch of the edging (ws) is then knit together with the last stitch from the shawl (rs) edge - which binds off one stitch from the shawl edge. Then you’ll work away from the shawl edge again (rs) to the end… and back up to the shawl edge (ws) to bind off another stitch… etc.

This may sound very confusing if you haven’t done it before or seen it done before. But if you don’t overthink the instructions and just carefully follow the directions - stitch by stitch - it’ll make perfect sense by no later than Row 4 or Row 6… at the latest. If, however, you still find it a little confusing, check out this video to see it done before you start to have a visual understanding of what is going to happen.

The last row of knitting on the shawl, before the edging, was a wrong side row. With right side of the shawl facing you, attach the edging yarn (Color B) to the right edge of the shawl… the same edge as you’ve been carrying the unused color up for the rest of the shawl. (I carried Color B up the side of the Rose Garden section so it was already in place to start the edging.) As usual, you’ll knit & bind off the shawl edge with the last stitch of each wrong side edging row from the right side of the project to the last shawl stitch on the left side of the shawl. Just think of the edging as an elaborate bind off of the shawl edge. :-)

Now, these instructions say to use a knitted cast on for the edge stitches. Most often, these edgings do. But, that doesn’t really work for me with lightweight yarn… I inevitably get the cast on too tight. Almost every time. So I use a crochet cast on. I used a 3.75mm hook onto a 4mm DPN; I’m working my edging on 4mm needles; ymmv. (I worked the Rose Garden chart on 3.75mm.)

For the first stitch, I put the hook through the last stitch on the shawl instead of using a slip knot, same as I would have for the knitted cast on (but with the hook instead of a needle), but from there, I cast stitches onto a DPN… cuz I despise knitting just a few stitches - 13 for this edging - on any circular longer than 16” and even that is annoying.

I work the edging with 2 DPNs, slipping the last stitch from the edging (DPN) that will be worked “k2tog” with the stitch I’m binding off from the shawl, onto the circular (temporarily dropping the working DPN I was using) and knitting the bind-off-k2tog (ws rows) off the shawl circular with the DPN with all the edging stitches - one edging stitch and the next shawl stitch together off the circular. (Did you follow that?)

If you do this be extremely careful to make sure the shawl stitches aren’t slipping off the circular before you get back to it for the next bind off! If you need to, put a point protector on the end until you are ready to work the next bind off stitch. I put a point protector on the other end of the circular so nothing slips off the back end and pull the other tip sufficiently clear of the end of the stitches until I get back to work the next bind off stitch that the tip won’t sneak out of the stitches.

I should probably add that I’d put all the stitches onto a 2mm 60” fixed circular that I got when I first starting knitting… not realizing I’d never have any purpose for such a needle. Until recently, when I realized it’s a great needle to use for taking pictures of projects that are jammed up onto a 32” circular. So I keep it in a small zip bag with a pair of point protectors to make sure stitches don’t slip off either end while I take pictures of the project and keep it with my “essential, with me” knitting tools. So, I’m actually knitting off this 2mm 60” circular needle… which makes the bind off stitches really easy to work with the DPN.

Pay attention to your work and don’t be in a hurry… you’ll be happier with the results & finish faster. This is very easy applied edging and great introduction to the technique for anyone who hasn’t done this kind of bind off before! Learning this will open all sorts of creative doors. It sounds more intimidating than it is to actually do. Promise.

~^~ Clue #4 modifications/tips ~^~
• make absolutely positively certain you have the correct number of stitches at the edge of your shawl… before you start the edging
• consider using 2-6 moveable stitch markers to mark off 10 shawl edge stitches ahead of your work, starting with the first repeat… leap frog your markers ahead 10 stitches as you work your edging to mark off each repeat as you go; if you made an error somewhere in the bind off part, you’ll know if your chart repeat doesn’t end inside your 10-stitch markers
• 10-st markers act as “row markers” - each st inside the marker represents 2 rows of border stitches (pattern & ws row)
• make sure your cast on stitches for the edging are not too tight or that side will be buckled - if it has been worked too tightly it probably won’t block out as well as you may prefer. If necessary, cast on with a needle size larger than you plan to work the edging - that corner may appear to be a little buckled before blocking anyway, but if it is really buckled, you may want to consider going up a needle size for the cast on
• if you haven’t started a row with a yarn over before, you may want to watch Lucy Neatby’s video for how to start a knit row with a YO (she has a video for starting with a YO on a purl row, for future reference)… it isn’t hard, but if you have any trouble with it, the video will clarify
• some people prefer to work the “bind off k2tog“ through the back loop; they feel that is a cleaner look - your call but whatever you decide, make sure to do the same thing every time
• pay attention!
• don’t be in a hurry… this will go much faster than it may feel like it will - unless you hurry & have to tink & frog back to redo your work

February 21
Struggling with the last lace pattern… totally a personal problem cuz it isn’t a difficult stitch pattern, at all. My brain just struggles with certain kinds of things. In this particular instance, it is the fact I cannot remember from one pattern row to the next what it was precisely I did and what I’m supposed to do on this one. (Short term memory issue; ADHD issue; too many numbers too close to the same count from one row to the next math-disability issue)

The only way to solve it is to just work the damn thing enough times to get the sequences of stitches into long term memory, and it has helped for me to visually change the written instructions so I can focus only on the things that are different between each pattern row… I’m highly visual so that helps. Wrote them out in a separate document, put a space between every 2 rows & put the key parts that change from row to row in bold… that seems to have been most helpful. I’m displaying it on my desktop where I can see both those notes and the chart side by side… so I can gradually wean off the written notes to the chart.

For some reason, the chart is more of a distraction than the other two have been. I thought it would be more helpful, but I’ve had to all but ignore it so far. I think once I’ve got the rhythm of the stitch pattern completely in memory it’ll be a lot more helpful, but it just feels like there is too much to keep track of or something. Like I said, totally a personal problem.

I love the way the stitch pattern looks… once I got enough of them done, correctly, to really appreciate the visual impact. I completely frogged back to the cast on and setup row - three times cuz I effed things up so badly. At least a dozen times I couldn’t make heads or tails of where I was in the repeat sequence after I’d had to put it down for some reason… and tinked or frogged back to a point where I was sure I recognized my place… which was back to the second repeat at least half those times.

I’m now to the point where I only have to frog back to the last half of the repeat to find my place… and almost to the point where I’m only frogging back one or two pattern rows cuz my stitch count was off somewhere.

Thought I was on a roll by the time I put things down last night… only to discover this morning that I’d screwed up the last pattern row and my first row of pattern couldn’t possibly be worked cuz I was missing two stitches. (That’s probably cuz I was too tired and should have stopped before starting that last repeat) Since then, I’ve been doing pretty good not missing anything… so far as I’m catching. But I’ve thought that before so… :-\

Five freakin’ repeats done after THREE days!!! In my defense, I’ve also not had as much time to knit, but what I have had, it feels like I’ve spent more time undoing what I did than actually making much progress. Every time I come back to it though, I make more forward progress than I did the last time… so, hope springs eternal. :-)

I took a break and went through all the projects to favorite ones I really like. A bunch of people don’t seem to be using any tags at all, only a very few come up in a search with the “assigned tag” from the Pre-Clue, and a bunch are using some variant of a tag… but searching any one tag variant doesn’t bring up all the projects. So I just went to the projects tab for the pattern to find them all. So many awesome color combinations! I hope more people post pictures of their finished shawls, at least, cuz there are a lot with no pix of their actual project at all. :-(

Okay. Enough procrastinating. Back to the edging…

… happy days are here again! By George, I think I’ve got it! Long-term memory status achieved! Almost fully memorized, can work from chart again, and haven’t had to tink/frog back a single row… yet. That feeling of confusion and disorientation has finally passed & I’m picking up speed! I’ve given up the dream that I’ll finish this by bedtime tomorrow, but barring any unforeseen interference, it is now realistic to expect to be finished by Wed. Maybe sooner. I’m gonna work to get as close to halfway before bedtime today. Don’t expect I’ll get there, but I’m going to see how close I can get before calling it a day.

Regardless, should have plenty of time to block this and - hopefully - finish the mitts with the leftovers before we leave Washington state and return to Oregon = very happy camper! We won’t be back in Portland until the Tues before the Crawl starts and I really wanted to have both projects complete before we head that way. I’ve got another project I’d like to complete before the Crawl and if I can get this & the mitts finished before we head out I should have plenty of time to accomplish that. Yay!

February 22
Not starting out to be a very good day. My less than 2 year old iPod Touch just gave up the ghost suddenly late last night. And first thing this morning I was met with several reminders that our other dog we had to put down suddenly in October would have been 12 years old tomorrow. Bam!… Bam!

As for my shawl, almost made it to the halfway point on the edging last night when I realized the iPod was dead. That was pretty much the end of knitting as I tried to locate my receipt on the Best Buy website. I’ll probably be distracted a lot of today with getting the new whatever-I-end-up-with so doubt I’ll finish today now. But, we’ll see.

Even if I do finish, the celebration is going to be awfully muted now.

February 27
Working on iPad Mini 3 since Sunday. Finally got everything downloaded, installed, passwords recovered & installed, preferences/settings set, new iPad specific apps installed & set up, organized & figured out. Initially resented moving up to bigger device but DH encouraged me toward the mini with a sage green Zagg keyboard-cover. It’s definitely winning me over. :-)

Major turning point when I decided last night I was ready to return to the shawl, downloaded the new complete pattern to the device… and opened it. The edging chart section displays perfectly on this screen! Can see entire chart, written directions and chart key all at once! Perfect size to work from… actually, because of the size of the iPad, works out better than working from laptop! I’d tried to work from iPod Touch but simply couldn’t read chart well enough for that to work at all. Couple things - mixed feelings now about loss of smaller device - that I like as well as iPod Touch, but many things I’m finding I like better (keyboard attached & larger display)… life is full of little trade-offs. :-)

Was finally in a sufficiently de-stressed place to pick up the shawl again, late last night. Last thing I’d done was frog back a dozen repeats in the car to get the iPad, cuz I saw a horrific pattern error that far back that I’d not seen before… big part of why I hadn’t started working on it again with iPad setup stress still going. Decided I needed to take a break and focus on the iPad cuz otherwise I’d be distracted thinking about what I needed to do on that = more screw ups.

First couple repeats didn’t go well… I’d lost my rhythm… but by the time I put it down it felt like I had it back. Probably unrealistic to hope I might finish today but that’s where I’m going to aim. Reading from the chart works so much better than the written, especially the way the full pattern layout is displaying on the iPad! Probably won’t be able to bind off tonight, but should be awfully close by end of day. Sunshine supposed to return to Elma tomorrow so I’ll be able to get finishing pix in better light. It’s raining like crazy right now & off/on since late yesterday… great knitting weather! Which, I’m gonna go start on again, right now…

March 1
Four more days to finish, block, dry & be ready to wear to the Crawl. However, I really need to get it finished and blocked no later than Monday cuz we take to the road Tues and it’s gonna be too hectic to have any confidence I’ll have time to get it blocked after we pull out of here. Yikes! As long as it’s pinned out, it can be drying on the way to Portland, but I’ve got to have time to soak & block as early Monday as possible so I don’t have to think about it anymore.

Problem is, I’ve been having serious ADHD-focus issues the last few days. Which causes me to make stupid mistakes because I think I’m paying attention but results demonstrate otherwise. Cuz I know what to do now. I’ve memorized the stitches in the repeat and don’t even have to look at the chart at this point to do the edging! And I’m still doing way more tinking than I should need to do. It isn’t the stitch pattern. It’s me.

I’m ¾ done with the edging and am just going to plug away at it today until it is done. Maybe I get to bind off and block it before evening. (That would be awesome, but given how things have gone to this point I’m not going to plan on it, just aim for it and work hard to try to get there.) Had to stop last night because my patience was gone and the frequency of catching errors was getting closer and closer together. That’s when I need to stop and do something else for a while! So I got some tea & went to bed.

~^~ KEY TO EDGING ~^~
I mentioned earlier about using removable stitch markers as “row counters”…

With this edging, it would work this way:
• first cast on the edging stitches
• then use removable stitch markers to count off and mark 10 stitches (for this edging repeat)
…I used 6 markers and as I complete a repeat, move that marker 10 sts beyond the last marker
…use as many or few as you prefer
• each stitch between the markers represents 2 rows of sts: 1 RS row and 1 WS row
…each st “counts” where you are in the repeat
…when there are 5 stitches left, you are halfway through that repeat and will reverse to k2tog/yo to the last st
• for orientation,
…each RS row you are working away from the shawl edge
…each WS row you are working toward the shawl edge to bind off one stitch from the shawl with the last stitch of the edging

There are things that don’t change on each RS and WS row… commit those to memory
• RS rows always begin with a “base sequence”: k2, YO, k2tog
• WS rows are always: YO, k2tog, knit to last stitch, k2tog (last stitch with one live stitch from the shawl edge = bind off one stitch of shawl edge)

The key to staying on track is,
…how many knit stitches on each RS row before the increase/decrease sequences and
…which comes first: the YO or the k2tog
… commit these to memory & use the stitches you’ve marked off as visual row counting clues to what you’ll do where…
… in countdown order before next stitch marker:
• 10 sts left - base, k5, YO/k2tog to last 2 sts, k2
• 9 sts left - base, k4, YO/k2tog to last 2 sts, k2
• 8 sts left - base, k3, YO/k2tog to last 2 sts, k2
• 7 sts left - base, k2, YO/k2tog to last 2 sts, k2
• 6 sts left - base, k1, YO/k2tog to last 2 sts, k2
center of repeat; 18 sts & 6 YO holes
• 5 sts left - base, k1, k2tog/YO to last 2 sts, k1
• 4 sts left - base, k2, k2tog/YO to last 2 sts, k1
• 3 sts left - base, k3, k2tog/YO to last 2 sts, k1
• 2 sts left - base, k4, k2tog/YO to last 2 sts, k1
• 1 st left - base, k5, k2tog/YO to last 2 sts, k1
• move that stitch marker 10 sts beyond the last marker set
• repeat sequence to last live shawl stitch
• bind off edging stitches as instructed in pattern at end of last pattern repeat

… once you get these stitch sequences down, you won’t need either the written directions or the chart to work the edging :-) The number of stitches left before the next stitch marker can tell you what you’ll be doing on each RS row

Once I saw the pattern of the stitches and located the key change(s) in each RS row all the stress was gone and I could simply use the number of stitches remaining before the next stitch marker to know what I needed to do on that RS row.

Bonus Tip Did you know there is a construction difference between a “border” and an “edging” on a project?
• A “border” is a change in stitch pattern that continues with basically the same number of stitches, worked parallel to the main stitches… like a Feather & Fan stitch… and all those live stitches are bound off at the end of the border repeats
• An “edging” is worked perpendicular to the main body, on fewer stitches, and is either grafted or sewn onto the bound off edge or, as in this design, is worked so that live stitches are bound off in the working/attaching of the edging… like this shawl is bound off with this edging
Courtesy Barbara G Walker

March 2
Time: 8:45pm. Finally bound off the last freakin’ stitch on this baby! Weave end & blocking to come. Not certain blocking will happen this evening. Had hoped I’d finish much earlier today, but… so happy to have this edging DONE!!!

Have to go for now…

… I’m back. Finally ate dinner… wouldn’t stop until this sucker was DONE! It was such a fun knit… until that monstrously freakin’ edging! It is beautiful, elegant, the perfect ending… and delighted in screwing with every neurological issue I’ve got! LOL! I almost gave up and/or briefly entertained finding a different edging for fear I wasn’t going to be able to complete it in time.

BUT I DID!!!

SO proud of myself that I didn’t give up and persevered to the end! It is soaking right now. I’ll pin it out on my blocking pad and it can stay there until we go to the kid’s house later tomorrow… or maybe until Wednesday afternoon/evening. The best part is, once it’s blocked out tonight, I don’t have to worry/think about it being ready to wear for the Crawl… cuz it’s DONE!!! Wahoo!!!

My blocking tools are composed of:
• the biggest, cheapest, mattress pad I could find; carefully cut off the sides so there is only the flat top of the mattress pad; with fabric-paint markers, measure out shapes and sizes for blocking various shawl shapes… you’ll have a minimum of 70” x 70” to block… and easily moveable if necessary; the cheap fabric dries really quickly - still stomp-dry the shawl wrapped in clean white towels to get as much excess moisture as you can first
• 50# or 60# fishing line instead of blocking wires… cheaper, extremely flexible, keep it or toss it after use cuz you’ll have something like a 100 yds of the stuff, or, wind it up and put in a sandwich-size zip bag (with permanent marker I write on the bag about what size shawl I used it for so I have an idea how much is in each bag) - store with your blocking pad
• T-pins… I pin the fishing line rather than the fabric whenever possible to prevent any potential for rust on the fabric (even the “rust resistant” pins might)
• Yarn Harlot has excellent tip for blocking shawls without wires and using fishing line works perfectly with her technique!

March 9
• 2015 RCYCMKAL Washington Park Shawl Finished! discussion (and pictures!)

Taking today to REST!!! I’m am toast!

My shawl was totally dry and ready to set free by the time we arrived in Portland and got the RV settled in its temporary home while we house & cat sit for the kids. So satisfying to pin it on Thu morning and know I hadn’t given in to that fleeting thought of just saying “screw it” on the edging, work about 5 rows of garter as a temporary border until after the Crawl and just spray-bottle block it. It was done, it was beautiful and I was proud of myself for not giving up.

2015 Rose City Yarn Crawl pix on Instagram

~^~^~
Reference/Help for newer lace knitters…
• Yarn Overs (yo): KnitPurlHunter video; yo before a knit stitch; yo before a purl stitch… all yarn overs are not created equally
• How to make a yarn over (yo)… DROPs video (no sound); excellent video to see how a yarn over is worked and what it looks like on needle to work; bonus: how to make a yo smaller, useful in thicker yarns, by purling through the back loop
• Dropped Stitch (Fixing Mistakes)… KnitPurlHunter video; cuz it’s only a matter of time…
• Lace knitting - fixing missed and dropped yarn overs, and dropped decreases… specifically addressing lace knitting problems
• Charts are your friends… Knitty tutorial
• Lace Knitting: How do I read a chart?… Knitting Daily tutorial… easy
• Lace Knitting Charts… PDF to download about reading lace charts
• Lace Tips & Tricks… potpourri of lace knitting tips from people who have done it… a lot
• More lace links @ KPL’s Favorite Videos & Tutorials > Lace
• Why block hand knits? Here’s why (and how)!… TECH knitting tutorial
• Walk around the block… Yarn Harlot tutorial; no wire blocking
• FISHING LINE makes an excellent alternative to blocking wires… it’s cheap, easily accessible, and if lost, easily replaceable! (link includes blocking tips)
• How to Block a Knitted or Crocheted Shawl… tutorial
• more Blocking links @ KPL’s Favorite Videos & Tutorials > Blocking

BOOKS… highly recommended
• I Can’t Believe I’m Lace Knitting by Kay Meadors… so far, the best learning-to-knit-lace book I’ve found; includes patterns and covers all the basics
• Crazy Lace by Myra Wood… hard copy (for reasons completely inexplicable!) is out of print, but available now in Kindle format; the best book I’ve found to understand what lace is and why you do what you do to get the results you get; it’s focus is learning to do free-form lace, but understanding how lace stitches work empowers one when working from a charted/written lace pattern as well
• The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques by Margaret Radcliffe… if combining colors feels a little overwhelming to you, the first chapter of this book is worth the cost of the entire book; seriously, every yarn crafter could benefit from having this book as a reference resource - it approaches working with color specifically from the perspective of how yarn colors work together