A tip for using a lifeline in lace

Well the lace work continues... I now have 2.5 repeats of 4. On my Cherry Blossom Baby Sweater. I tried the Dental floss lifeline trick, however It can be a little time consuming.

Dental Floss Lifeline procedure:

1. Thread a needle with floss
2. work the needle through all active stitches and yarn overs on the row
3. Continue knitting
4. Heaven forbid you have to use it, now you have to rip back to the floss row
5. Carefully work your needle back through the stitches on the floss.
6. Begin again...

I thought about this process and came up with another way using a spare circular needle. For this project I used a size 2 40" circular needle as my lifeline.

Circular Needle Lifeline:

1. work the circular through the active stitches underneath the cable of your project needle.
2. Continue knitting (this is a little awkward with the cable left in on the previous row)
3. Now if frogging is necessary rip back to the cable/ lifeline
4. Begin again using your lifeline needle to knit off of.

This method works well because it eliminates a few steps. You don't have to worry about the size difference of the needles because the stitch size is determined by the right hand needle not the left.

My circular lifeline can be seen above (the red cable) holding my place just in case...

Testing, a new frontier

Well I am always looking for fun new patterns and designs, so a while back I joined two groups on ravelry devoted to the testing of patterns. After watching for a couple of months I found two projects that tickled my fancy. The Cherry Blossom Baby Sweater and the Babbee Sox pattern.

I am enjoying knitting for a cause. :) Plus along the way I am learning new techniques and acquiring new patterns.

ô¿ô Laura ô¿ô

My Stained Glass Argyle Hat!

I am so pleased with this project thus far!! This is my first fair isle color work pattern and only my second with a chart. Part of me is still amazed that I can muster up the coordination to hold one yarn in each hand. :D

Earlier, while finishing my second motif I noticed two black stitches that should have been color stitches. Luckily I was able to drop each of offending stitches the three rows and carefully pick them back up correctly with my crochet hook.
ô¿ô Laura ô¿ô

My favorite gift of 2009!

My HDBW!

I finally got a chance to take a good photo of my favorite Christmas present! My Heavy Duty Ball Winder and Power Base Light Plus from Nancy's Knit Knacks. Seen here holding 10 oz of baby weight yarn. To give you an idea of the size of this monster, the base is just a little smaller than your average shoe box. :) I was so glad my Parents and hubby conspired together to get me both pieces! They were rewarded by being able to watch me wind any scrap of yarn I could get my hands on! (Sometimes twice.) :D

Is this a necessary gadget for every knitter?

No.

Is it a bit excessive?

Yes.

Am I ecstatic every time I buy new yarn and get to play with it?

Absofrickinlutely!

- ô¿ô Laura ô¿ô

My favorite Chemo Cap pattern.

I received Susan Thompson of Head Huggers.org permission to publish my modifications to a pattern on her site. I am publishing it here so that others may benefit from my experimentation.

There are a couple of major modifications to this pattern, first it is knit in the round which eliminates an uncomfortable seam. Second the original pattern decreased solely in purl diverting from the pattern. After much experimentation I have found this alternate decrease to stay more in pattern. I hope you enjoy making this hat as much as I do.

Inside Out Knit Chemo Cap In The Round
Designed by: Laura Gholston
http://www.headhuggers.org

I enjoy this pattern for Chemo Caps because it is relatively quick to knit and I find the simple pattern great for (almost mindless) knitting. As an ADD Knitter I like things that are quick and interesting. I hate seaming because it tends to get put off. I modified the original pattern (Knit pattern #20 from the website) because this eliminates the seaming issue as well as working a different decrease that blends in better with the pattern. I hope you will enjoy making these as much as I do! Special Thanks to Joyce Forker for creating the initial pattern.

Needles: size 8 and 10 (6 and 8 works well too)
DPNs or Long Circular (for magic loop) required
Yarn: Anything worsted, I recommend using the softest
that you can find.
Directions:
Cast on 80 stitches on the smaller needles (26, 27, 27 on DPNs)

Join for knitting in the round being careful not to twist stitches. To avoid laddering pull the first 2 stitches at the beginning of each round very tight
K1, P1 rib for 1 ¾ inches.

Change to larger needles.
ROW 1: Purl.
ROW 2: Knit 1, Purl 1 across.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until cap measures 6” from beginning.

TOP SHAPING:
1st Row: *K2, K2 tog*. Repeat from * across.
Purl 2nd row and all even numbered rows.
3rd Row: *K1, K2 tog*. Repeat from * across
5th Row: Repeat 1st row.
7th Row: Repeat 3rd row.
9th Row: K2 tog across.
11th Row: K2 tog across.
12th Row: Purl across.
Cut yarn leaving 5" tail. Draw yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight.
Weave tail in on wrong side of cap.
No Seam!

Knitting Fool!

Hehe ok lately I have been churning out finished objects (FO's) I finished my Christmas stocking, a Fleur-de-lis washcloth (experimentation for a Saints project coming soon), an iphone carrier, an iPod sock and my blue fingerless gloves. Pictures on my flickr acct. or Ravelry. My next project will be a santa hat for Doonie (my puppy). He will be forced to wear it for our Christmas Card Pictures. :D Currently in progress is a Quick Baby Sweater for my cousin's daughter Faith and Socks for my mom.

First Stocking Coming Right Along!

OK so I am finishing up my first Christmas stocking! (The pic is from earlier along.) I am excited and my toe heel ability is returning although the heel on this one isn't perfect. ( I will have to try to live with that... Drives me NUTS!) Last night I gave a VERY belated Christmas gift to a good friend. It felt good to finally be finished with the project and able to give them to her. They fit great! Now her fingers don't have to freeze when she types! :D
Cheramie's Fingerless Gloves!