03/30/11

Thought I’d add something for those interested: for the bind off I used the k2, slip them back on left needle and k2togtbl, except I didn’t slip them back and just knit them on the right needle ssk style, which saves a lot of time. Also, I’ve called it Shipwreck from the Midlands because I got through most of Legend of the Seeker series while knitting it :).

And, just as a reminder, here’s the Shipwreck shawl thread for all the questions you may have about it.

03/29/11

Yay!!! It is done! I adore it! This wool is gorgeous, I love the colour changes, and it’s perfect for the sea theme. I love the mesh part (thank God because it was boring to knit!). There’s a mistake in the Madeira chart and a very large yo in the Bleeding Heart, but they’re hardly noticeable. All in all, for my first lace, firts shawl, first round, and basically first non garter stitch scarf project, I’m very happy about it and it went relatively smoothly…

Just some advice if, like me, you’re blocking something (big) for the first time: don’t try to pin it to a comforter, the pins won’t hold. You’ve got to strip to the mattress…

03/24/11

Row 144, cannot WAIT to be done! Hopefully by next week, as I’d like to block it at my mom’s where there are lots of nice carpets to pin it to… :)

03/19/11

On row 121, those k2tog, yo rows are looooong! Left markers on every 20 stitches, this way I can see right away if I forget a yo (which hasn’t happened yet). Did the russian join 5 rows ago, those rows really eat up yarn. I hope I’ll have enough with 2 skeins as I hoped I could keep one to make something else. I can’t wait to block it, and I really want to start another project but am still waiting for my Lion Brand yarn for the Miriel hooded cowl and for straight 3,5mm needles for the sea of dreams blanket… Oh well.

03/11/11

Finished lace section without too much trouble. Got short one stitch maybe twice in the Madeira section, but rather than tinking I just created one above a knit stitch, and it seems to have worked (can’t see any mistake in the pattern… maybe when I block it? we’ll see). I used the modifications on row 22, 30 and 31, not exactly the symetrical chart but a cross between the two and it seems to have worked out fine. On row 98, now on to the boring part (I’m skipping the beads).
I need to start another lace project… I need to count something! :)

03/06/11

On row 10 of Madeira, going alright so far… About to put another lifeline before the marker move and cross fingers for things to keep going smoothly!

02/26/11

On row 5 of firts bleeding heart, and already dreading the first marker move on row 10… Fingers crossed that it will go smootly (but I’ll put a lifeline on row 9, just to be sure! :))

02/23/11

Back on row 15 after having to frog to my first lifeline. Turns out row 26’s missing stitch was missing for quite a while (thanks Aimee for pointing it out!). Oh well. That’s how you learn. And I’m not even to the “move marker to the right/left” parts yet… This is gonna take awhile.

02/22/11

On third row of first Bleeding heart pattern. Was short a stitch on the first row (must have forgotten a yarn over or something, I definitely should count every row in the future), so I just made one… Hopefully it won’t be too visible, I guess I’ll see in a couple of rows if I have to frog all the way to my second lifeline…

02/20/11

On 2nd row of Strawberry pattern. I’m going slow to make sure I don’t make any mistakes, as I really don’t like to frog… Put a lifeline on row 15, hopefully I won’t have to use it…So far no problem, except that I don’t like knitting with 4 dpns…3 is easier! Can’t wait for it to be big enough to transfer on my circular…

02/17/11
Granted, I should probably have taken on something a little more easier for my first “non scarf” project… But I like challenges!

So, after 2h of looking up on the internet and trying every single circular cast on with no success, I finally managed it thanks to this video. Also after trying to get it to work on circular needles, I gave up and stuck with the dpns, which I’d never used before. Needless to say it took me 1h to knit 4 rows, but I’ve finally gotten the hang of it, yay!

So, I’m currently on the 12th row and already about to put a lifeline in (better safe than sorry, and since I’m a beginner, I figured something might go wrong anytime!).

I plan on using Nurse Ratchknit’s corrections for the Madeira part, that is if I get there!
First, I’ve got to figureout how to transfer my work from dpns on a circular… I figure you just start knitting all the needles with the circular… but that’s just guessing, so I’d better check if my guess is right!