The Dog's Breakfast

This week's Knit Pick's Podcast challenged lace knitters who blog to show just how ugly lace looks while it is being worked on in hopes of preventing newbies from abandoning their projects in shame. Lace knitting is a rather secretive business. You say you never work on lace in public because it requires intense concentration but the real reason you don't take it out in public is that you really don't want anyone to think that you are actually making something so damn ugly. It takes a long hot soak and a fierce stretching to be able to see the intricate patterns that are hidden during the knitting process. This of course is what makes lace knitting so addicting once you get the hang of it. Blocking is like giving birth. Maybe better. Surprisingly, even beginning knitters have the skills to knit lace as the actual knitting is not at all complicated. It's counting stitches and keeping track of where you are that drives you mad. This is my Seasons of Mist and Mellow Fruitfulness (yes, that is the pattern's actual name) scarf-to-be. We were having a great time together until a naughty little yarnover got away unnoticed and required a painful tinking back this week. I now have resorted to lifelines (knitted-in threads that mark your place) every so many rows to repair my sudden lack of confidence in my ability to count to ten.