Lifeline
I’m knitting a lace scarf for one of my friends for her birthday this month. If you knit — especially if you’ve ever knit lace — then you probably know that if you mess up on a lacework pattern, it’s pretty difficult to go back and fix your mistakes. Suffice it to say, I had more than my share of mistakes on this scarf and have had to start over from scratch several times.
Cue the lifeline.
In my picture it’s the purple yarn running through the scarf and it’s there so in case I mess up again, rather than having to rip the entire thing and start from scratch I only need to rip back to where the purple yarn is holding my stitches. I don’t know why I resisted it so much before — it only takes a tiny bit of time to run it through my knitting, but knowing I don’t have to start from scratch each time is such a huge relief. Naturally, I haven’t made a mistake since I started using the lifeline but I’ve still got half a scarf to finish — still plenty of room for error.
January 9, 2009 at 11:05 am
Beautiful scarf, lucky friend! Glad you won’t have to rip it out a billion more times
January 10, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Its gorgeous! You have such talent. I’m determined to learn how to knit sometime this year.
January 11, 2009 at 4:18 am
Hmmmm, I am guessing the luck friend in question is me. Cathy, it really is beautiful. Do you have to be good at everything?!
January 15, 2009 at 12:32 am
Wow- beautiful. I knit but nothing intricate! Only stockingette, or cable really for me.
March 26, 2009 at 12:33 pm
[...] and slipped stitches once you’ve let them go — which is why smart people use a lifeline — so it’s back to the drawing board for [...]
June 4, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Why did I never think of that?! OMG, I’ve dropped so many stitches in my time, and usually just end up starting over. Thanks for the idea, Cathy!