As for the lace project, the best advice I ever got when starting lacewas to make a "lace book." Get some index cards, and write down eachrow of the pattern on a separate card, either written out or as achart, your choice (I also usually cut them in half, since most lacerepeats fit easily on one-half of a card). Punch a hole in the cornerof each card and attach them together using ring clips (which you canfind in most office supply stores). Every time you finish a row, flipthe card over to the back so that the next row is the first card.You'll always know your place, and be able to have the specific row youneed right there without risking skipping lines. Paper clip the book toyour place whenever you put down your knitting, and you'll be sure toknow your place when you get back, whether it's five minutes or fivemonths from when you left off.

If the wrong side is always apurl row, you can either skip making a card, since it's usually easy totell if you're working on the wrong or right side, or you can just puta blank card in to help keep track. If the wrong side row has patternstitches, I've found it very useful to use two different colors ofcards, one for right-side rows and one for wrong-side rows, and to usea color-coordinating stitch marker at the beginning of the appropriaterow. For instance, if my right-side rows are blue cards, the firstmarker as I work the right side is also blue.

Good luck!

Okay, so it's the creator of the patterns, but it's SO cool!

http://www.slumberland.org

I made these for a friend for her birthday. 100% acrylic yarn, some random one that I had lying around. Came out pretty nice. Debating on doing this pattern for myself with some modifications.

( Images behind here )

Previously posted armwarmer now has a mate.

Yep, between then and now, I finished the other one. I'm just a knittin' fool!

Yarn: Debbie Bliss cathay
Colour: 12017, Dyelot: 54

I'm assuming we all remember this yarn:


Well, today, that yarn became a halfway completed set of armwarmers. And OH MY GOD is this yarn fantastic. 50% cotton, 35% microfiber, 15% silk. Pain in the ass to work with, but lovely to wear. Now I understand why that yarn was called for in the shrug I'm making. I may have to go pick up the yarn to make another shrug with. Light, comfy without being overly warm. This is tempting to use for a LOT of things.

Onto the photos!


They look more blue than they actually are. The yarn color is periwinkle.

Pattern: A Little Twist Armwarmers from Slumberland.

Hopefully this will be the last time I feel compelled to post these.

This is the latest completed project (AKA FO) as of 23 March 2006.

Experiments in cabling (super easy!) and paying with Noro wool yarn. I love these.

Of course, the day after I finish them, it turns WARM here in Washington. But they're really damned neat.

The previous post's instructions called for Debbie Bliss Cathay yarn (cotton, microfiber and silk, YUM!). Well, at $7.75 a pop and a pattern calling for 8 skeins, I'm thinking not. But I do need some not-wool arm/wristwarmers for the upcoming summer session, since they keep the law school a brisk "holy crap it's COLD in here!" (I suspect to make us long for law school when we end up in hell - at least according to Dante's Inferno.)

Anyway, so here's today's yarn get. 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cathay, and a set of size 5 DPNs (because I knew I didn't have those).

Or... "Why you should ALWAYS keep labels after you wind your yarn."

I bought this yarn originally for a crocheted shell tunic that I got bored with. It's denim and pretty (and the photo does not do it justice, but I did it after it got dark outside, so...), but I cannot remember for the life of me what the care instructions are for the yarn. I think I have an intact ball somewhere.

This is about three hours into it. It's on size 5 needles and the only thing that is keeping me going is how darned pretty my stitches are looking. Tension is good, and if I finish and block it well, it strikes me as one of those "where did you buy that!" knitted things.

Massive amounts more to go, but it'll be nice when it grows up a bit more.