This week I have mainly been.... Swatching

Especially if you consider my Enchanted wood as one giant swatch :-(

We have been finding a few faux pas in the pattern - mainly caused by having to split the pattern up into manageable, readable chunks - plus deciding to produce written instructions at the last minute.

Now my charting software does a great job of producing written instructions - apart form the fact that this shawl is mirror images on either side of the central decrease.

Now that's fine apart form the fact the I'm having to repeat the instructions backwards from the end and substitute left and right leaning decreases as I come to them -  a little like dancing ballroom in heels and a very long dress ( very easy to trip up)

Still I'm managing to stay one step ahead of the game and make changes as they are needed - you would never believe that this pattern has been test knit not once but twice. I now have at least 3 people knitting ahead in case of trouble so hopefully would should catch everything...

As I said I have been swatching

 Lots of swatches for lots of designs destined to be submitted for consideration for a new book.....

Also about to be swatched for Evenstar by Susan Pandorf. a mystery laceweight circular shawl starting mid February.

Painty at the Unique Sheep has dyed me up a special Gradiance colourway in their Eos silk/merino yarn

Silver through to a light pewter colour - beautiful!

The first skein is wound ( along with a huge 130g skein of the same base in a different colour) ready for more swatching.

The huge skein is for the next KAL shawl. The book is chosen, I'm playing with charts and soon, very soon I will be casting on the prototype....

Comments

[KathleenC]

Oooo... that is some mighty pretty yarn!
I'm teaching a class next month, just simple cables, and the swatches I sent have math problems... math problems in a 20-28 stitch swatch. I can't imagine the difficulty of writing lace!