I'm not so sure

I had a little practice with the Bird's Eye pattern. This is not a swatch - I don't do swatches - this is "let's have a go and see how it comes out". So what's the difference between that and a swatch? There really isn't much of a difference, but don't tell anyone, otherwise my reputation as a dare-devil knitter (See her walk the high wire! See her juggle - maybe with fire!) would be shattered.

This is what we have so far:



and to be honest I'm not so sure. This is a true lace pattern in that it is patterned every row. There is no plain row between the patterning. There is no possibility of counting the stitches on the private side and checking the pattern repeats. This is true "high-wire" knitting. That said the pattern is not all that hard, although Sharon Miller, the designer, calls it "quite tricky to knit". I did find I had omitted a YO on one row but quickly realised on the next row, when my landmark stitches didn't line up. So I just scooped up the thread between the stitches and made the YO, there and then, on the next row.

The reason why I'm not so sure is that I don't know if I have the stamina to continue doing the selfsame thing until it's big enough. I could end up knitting a shawl for a teddy bear. (Though considering #1 daughter has a teddy called Penelope that might not be a bad thing.) It just isn't giving me that "wow" factor. So I've stopped for a bit to re-group. Maybe I should consider designing something using patterns from "Heirloom Knitting" and then I'll only have myself to blame when I start whining that it's boring.

The Highland Triangle is still on the needles. I'm in despair as to how I can take a picture of it when it's all scrunched up on the needles:



The tangled mass (or should that be "mess"?) that is the Highland Triangle at present.

See those red threads? They are stitch markers:



They are there to isolate the two centre stitches that are at the bottom point.

I can't really see the point of all those fancy beaded stitch markers people have. They look pretty but I know that in my hands they would be catching on the knitting, distorting the stitches and generally getting in the way. I use a length of crochet cotton (red in this case for contrast), lay it between stitches in the relevant spot and carry on. The marker is held in position by the working yarn and on the next row I just flip it to the other side of the work and catch it with the working yarn again. It's a bit tricky at the beginning, because the crochet cotton can tend to fall out, but if you remain vigilant, it's fine. The joy of this type of marker, for me, is that you can pull it up as you need to and , most importantly, it is simplicity itself to move the stitch marker. You don't need to slip it from needle to needle. You don't need to unhook it or unclip it and watch it as it skitters off the needle and ends up under the sofa, you don't need to stop the cat or the baby or the hoover from eating it. The best thing is that it's remarkably cheap - I can't even remember why I have a ball of red crochet cotton, let alone what I paid for it. Oh, and you are very unlikely to run out. Everyone must have something that would do.

Let's hear it for the running yarn marker!