Darjeeling Shawl from Yarning for Ewe - Day 4

"Who ya gonna call?"

As predicted, things got a bit more complicated with the lace panel.  I’ve never worked with a magazine pattern before, so this was a new process for me.  Luckily, knitters today have many resources to find support when knitting a popular item like a magazine pattern.  I’ve learned to always read the Ravelry comments on any project before I start—it’s free advice and always useful.

I read the instructions and am no stranger to chart knitting.  Only I couldn't decipher the nature of the repeat on the chart—was it repeated all the way across the shawl?  Or was I just supposed to repeat the section once and duplicate the whole chart panel all the way across?  Rather than sit there and do the math of stitch count (what my engineer husband would have done, I’m sure), I dove in, repeating the full panel across my needles.  Guess what?  The stitches didn’t match up.  150 or so stitches is a lot of TINKing to do—good thing I was on a long car drive at the time.  

Once I got home, the friendly folks at Yarning for Ewe were more than ready to answer my questions and walk me through the chart.  While in the car, I used my beloved smartphone to access Ravelry and reach out to designer Joan Forgione.  In a flash, I had more detailed instructions direct from the pattern creator.  Ah, the wonders of technology!  I’d never realized magazines sometimes must edit for space and sometimes need to make instructions as succinct as possible.  Me, I like an avalanche of instructions.   Now I had them—that’s the beauty of knitting in the digital world.

With the new instructions in hand, the lace panel fit into place perfectly.  I even got to the point where I could read the stitches and not keep my eyes fixed on the print-out.  That’s always the most fun—where I’ve internalized the pattern and the artistry can come out.

There’s one more switch to go—the lace edging now turns to run perpendicular of the previous panel.  I predict great fun—especially now that I have lots of coaches to turn to for support.