Pattern: Mountain Pines Shawl from Two Old Bags when they were still Wool You Order. They’re showcasing this pattern on their site as a “revival” pattern. Mountain Pines is knit from the center out: stitches are picked up around the 4 sides of the center square, then a border and an edging are knit outward.
Needle size: US 4. I switched needles from an Addi Turbo to a Crystal Palace bamboo until I found one that kept me from hyperventilating too much. The stitches either kept slipping off the needle or the join kept catching the stitches. It was aggravating.
Yarn: Grignasco Merino Silk Lace weight, 80% merino, 20% silk. 1533 yards per 100 grams. I bought two skeins and used about 2500 yards. The deep red color looks accurate on my monitor. The shawl blocked out to almost 5.5 feet square and could have been blocked more severely but I liked it that size.
Notes: This was my first true lace weight shawl. When I started this I had knit a small shawl out of fingering weight yarn and figured that was all the experience I needed. Hah.
The center square was a pleasure to knit since every other row was plain knit and I was lulled into thinking I had mastered lace knitting. I’m a natural, look at me!
Once I got into the border the knitting gods deserted me. I did everything wrong. I didn’t know about lifelines so when I had to undo a row or three, I had to tink back stitch by stitch. Tinking the decreases was my undoing everytime. I knew about markers in between
stitch repeats but figured I couldn’t use them because the repeats kept changing as the rounds increased in size. I didn’t know how to look for a lost yarn over and fix it on the next row. I thought I could knit this while watching TV. I tried to read row after row of written instructions because the graph was too small for me to read.
Mostly I didn’t know that knitting requires me to think. It’s more than being able to manipulate thread around a needle. The instructions are a starting point. From there, it’s up to the knitter to process how to reach the final bind off.
I never did use lifelines but what I did finally figure out:
A lot of the time I spend knitting isn’t knitting. It’s analyzing. It’s looking at the graph and seeing how the next round fits with the round I just did. It’s reading my knitting. Looking at each repeat and trying to discern the pattern, so it’s easier to memorize.
Markers in between every repeat are a must when working complicated lace. Taking the time to move them is less time-consuming than ripping out a whole round.
As a corallary to the above, try to fix a mixtake without ripping back the whole round. Unless the mistakes are huge, it’s possible to fix a mixtake when you come to it on the next round.
Count stitches at the end of every round. Know how many stitches should be in each repeat and use the repeat count to find the error. Most of the time my mistakes were a missed yarnover and should have been easy to fix.
The best way I know to become a better knitter is to learn to read charts. Row by row written instructions are helpful as backup, but they slow me down every time. My knitting speed picked up incredibly once I stopped depending on the row-by-row instructions.
If charts are too small, enlarge them. Mark all over them. Make notes. Count the plain stitches in each repeat and write the number into the chart. Cross off a row once it’s done. Use row markers. I never work from the original. I make working copies of the pattern and chart and when I’m finished I transfer my notes to the original.
It took me 5 years to knit the Mountain Pines Shawl. Five years. When I became frustrated, I’d let it hibernate for 6 months while I went off and tried other techniques. By the time I blocked my shawl, I was a much better knitter. If I’d known other lace knitters who could have taught me some of this, it wouldn’t have taken so long.
I love this shawl and I’m I challenged myself to knit it. I know of only one mistake in it that was beyond my skill to fix. Today, I could fix it.
My next challenge: Sharon Miller’s Wedding Ring Shawl . I bought the pattern when it was still available. As soon as I find the right yarn, I’m casting on. I expect it’ll take me at least 5 years to finish.
I can’t wait. Anybody out there have hints for me?
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