Title aside, do you chart the lace patterns before you start knitting?

Busted!

Yes, I do. So calling it “uncharted territory” really isn’t completely accurate, now is it?

There has been a lot of charting and recharting and swapping of patterns and last minute switching with this design, however.

When I started a circular shawl in my Tilli Tomas Elsie yarn that I abandoned, it consisted of completely different stitch patterns. After I decided that I did not want to use that yarn, I completely revamped the charts. And I’ve tweaked them a couple of times while knitting. And just before I started the chart for the section I’m on now, I completely re-did it. And then again as I started knitting, I adjusted it on the fly.

Sort of makes my head spin.

I only did a couple of rounds last night because I had some non-knitting-related work that I needed to do.

But, I have finished the sock design for the Dye Dreams sock club offering for Autumn. You have to click on the link to see the sock.

Clicky here.

I’m very happy with it!

Lucy Sez

“Call me when my new kitty bed is finished.”

Seanna Lea asked:

What will you do if it you take it off the needles and don’t really like how it looks?

Good question. I’m pretty sure I’ll like it if it is anything the way it looks in my mind’s eye, but you never know. If I find it loathsome, I could always give it away as a gift to some poor unsuspecting victim.

Actually, I don’t have a final disposition in mind for it anyway. It may be destined to be a kitty bed for Lucy.

Cindy asked:

Any idea of the size this will block out to?

Well . . . I’m aiming for somewhere between 60 and 72″ in diameter. I should be able to estimate fairly well when it’s time to stop knitting on the body of it and knit the edging on. I can measure out from the center and stretch as I measure and get a rough estimate of the size.

I bought 4 skeins of the yarn and I’m slightly less than halfway through the second skein, so I’ve got plenty of yarn. The edging I plan to use is a very simple small one, so it won’t take more than half a skein (I think), but I’ll be sure to stop knitting on the body while I still have at least a full skein left. My gut instinct is that I’ll be ready to stop before that anyway. It’ll be interesting to see how close I come.

I won’t name the design until it is off the needles and I can see what I think it looks like.

Oh, and I’ve got an idea for another circular shawl with a construction different from this one. But I’ll finish this first.

Lucy sez:

Did I hear kitty bed?