When I planned this post it was going to be a blocking lace tutorial, very how-to, very factual, and hopefully very helpful. I get asked blocking questions all the time. So I know I need to write a post like that.
This is not that post.
When I looked through the pictures I had taken, I realized I have a documentary on how I manage to get lace blocked while living with two Very Bad Cats… and some blocking tips to toss in.
That’s ok. I’ve noticed that ya’ll like Very Bad Cats. That post on why I needed a crochet seat cover earned me more comments than any other post I’ve made (WordPress helpfully told me this) and all of those comments were about how I’m using canned mackerel to cure hairballs. “All that work”, I tell people, “all that knitting and crocheting, and spinning, and they like the cats best.” Well, there are plenty of Very Bad Cats in this post. Enjoy!
As I might have mentioned before, my official WIP these days is the Mary Lennox shawl. Its a circular shawl that was published as a mystery Knit-A-Long on ravelry. The knit-a-long is finished and the mystery is over and I am still plugging away.
Miss Mary
It is my official WIP, the one I talk about when someone asks what I’m working on. But… there are others. There have been whole projects that have gone from cast-on to finish off. Little things like head bands and yarn bowls. The projects are just short breaks, just diversions. I haven’t forgotten about Miss Mary, really I haven’t. In fact I spend time with her every week that drags by, doing a few rows….
The problem lately is that I’m in the nupp section. That’s section 3, made with Option A for those who are familiar with the pattern. The designer gave us poor knitters all kinds of options in this one and that’s one of the things I LOVE about it. There are options for the shape (circle, half-circle, or three-quarter circle), options for lace motif in almost every section, there are options for beads, options for divider sections….
So I could have not done nupps. Absolutely. I choose to do them. All 144 of them.
These are big nupps. Nine stitchers. I can do nupps the right way, the traditional way, when they are the baby 5-stichers. I can manage when they are respectable 7-sticthers. Knowing I was facing big, honking nine-stitchers (and 144 of them, did I mention that?) I didn’t even try. I went right to a cheat.
There are lots a ways to cheat a nupps. Must be that I’m not the only knitter who needs help. So I had lots to pick from. Here is how I do mine:
I make the nupp (knit one, yarn over, knit one….) on the right side of the work. Then I pull my left needle free and insert the tip of that left needle into the front of all nine stitches. Next is the tricky bit. I take my right needle, that is currently behind my left, and bring it down…under…. and to the front of my left needle, without dropping any stitches (that’s the tricky part). Now I can turn to the back side of the work and purl them together.
So its a nupp, a real nupp. It just gets purled together right away instead of as you work the next row. Those pesky yarn overs don’t get a chance to move around and pull tight on you. Also, if you make a nupp and hate the way it looks (which is about a third of the time for me!) you’re right there. You can just pull it out and re-do it.
I have one more row of nupps to go. Then its off to the next section!
Then there will be no more nupps for awhile. I’m all nupped out.
This is a pattern I developed to help knitters get comfortable working with charts. Written instructions are provided too, but… I hope you’ll at least try the chart!
For this I used Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool and size 9 needles. I worked 7 repeats of the chart (shown below) and mine came out to be about 19 inches (48 cm) long by 3.5 (9 cm) inches wide. Then I sewed the two ends together and put it on. Immediately!
(That’s not quite true. It did have to be blocked in between finishing the knitting and the sewing up. Like all lace, before blocking it looked a bit sloppy. After blocking, it looked nice and respectable.)
Here is the pattern:
Cast on 13 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Begin chart & repeat Rows 1-12 until piece is desired length.
Knit 2 rows.
Bind off and sew in ends.
And here are the written instructions in case you’d like to cheat check your chart reading skills:
I hope you’ll try it and like it. I’m currently working it up a second time, in fingering weight yarn on size 3 needles . I think it will perfect for a book mark.
If you are looking for a way to take this pattern with you, check out the handy “Print & PDF” button down there on the left. And check out our other free patterns. You might find something else you like.
Roving Crafters 