Brush Creek Cowlette from The Knitting Nest - Day 4

Yummy, yarny comfort...

Ah, the final color progression.  I can see my stitches so much more easily now.  While the repeat is still 17 stitches long, it doesn’t exactly match up with the earlier repeat, so I had to remove not just the center stitch marker but all my markers and reset them in row 80.  Only there’s a bitty shift that takes place in that row, so it took a bit of thinking and staring to make sure I’d gotten everything right (there’s another one of those shifts coming up in row 102 so I’ll be ready).  

Here’s a situation where charts and written directions show their differences.  I need to cope with that small shift from rows 80 and 102 if I’m looking at the chart, but it doesn’t really come into play if I’m knitting off the written directions.  This is why I love it when patterns give us both options—I often end up shifting back and forth between modes depending on which gives me a clearer understanding.  

The nice part about this section for me is that I can see the pattern and how its supposed to take shape, and that always makes for more confident stitching.  That lovely affirmation of “Oh, yes, that’s where that goes,” that feeds my creative appetite and lets me know I’ll like what I’ve made when it’s done. 

Sometimes—especially toward the end of a challenging project—it’s nice to know you’re on the right path.  Onward to the finish!

Speaking of finishes, this week SMALL-TOWN FIREMAN releases.  It's the final book in the Gordon Falls series—the one that has so many knitting characters.  This one has a nice bit of knitting in it, too.  It’s been a delight to introduce so many people to the Prayer Shawl ministry through these books.  When I think of all the yummy, yarny comfort I might have inspired, my heart swells with happiness.

October Authors Who Knit: Robin Lee Hatcher

DestiKNITters, stepping up to the "Authors Who Knit" plate today is RITA and Christy award-winning inspirational author Robin Lee Hatcher.

Robin, what’s on your needles right now?

A prayer shawl in shades of rose and mauve.

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment?

I began knitting prayer shawls after I had breast cancer surgery. It just seemed like a good use of my time. Sometimes I know from the start who the shawl is for. Sometimes I don't know until I'm done. But time and again, those shawls have gone to someone who needed a little bit of love and comfort.

However, I must admit that the project that was the most fun were the "funky" scarves I made for the women in my annual brainstorming group. They were all so surprised.

Straight or circular needles?

Circular for the big projects. Straight for scarves.

Metal or wood needles?

Metal.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?

Milk chocolate.

Coffee or tea?

Coffee.

Have you written a knitting character?

Yes, more than one over the years. But the most recent is Gloria Fisher, mother of the heroine in my novel Beloved that will release in late spring/early summer 2013.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book?

I hope they won't suspect how hard Betrayal (Nov. 2012) was to write. My characters, Hugh Brennan and Julia Grace, have both known cruel betrayal at the hands of people they should have been able to trust. Writing the stories of not one but two wounded souls was hard to do just right. I hope readers will think that's what I accomplished.

Give a shout out to your favorite local yarn store:

Knit Wits

8850 Fairview Avenue

Boise,  ID 83704

http://boiseknitwits.com

If you'd like to know more about Robin and her novels, click on by her website and say hello.  And, if you're a knit-to-an-audiobook person like me, you'll be delighted to know that many of Robin's books are available on audible.com

Next up, DestiKNITions tackles "A Lady's Mantle" from Knitter's Mercantile in Columbus Ohio.