Ravelrympics: Knitting Lace Like A Crazy Woman
It is with a sense of impending doom that I am furiously knitting my Seascape wrap. (Hey, I’ve interviewed the designer and showed off the yarn—I’ve done everything but get this wrap knitted!)
I’ve calculated that I need to knit 44 rows a day until the 24th, and then hopefully be casting off during the closing Olympic ceremonies. I picked this as my Ravelrympics project and didn’t get started until the th because I didn’t have the needles. I have now entered Denial Mode. Also, I didn’t bother to fix the fact that this picture makes the yarn look brownish, instead of delicate silver gray.
I also just realized that I have 82 stitches, instead of 83.
And maybe my mistake comes 1 row before my lifeline.
I NEED ENCOURAGMENT!
The Lumpy Sweater 
Aunt Kathy replied:
What you have done so far is gorgeous. Add in the missing stitch and move forward. If you don’t finish by Olympic ending, it’s not a failure. you were handicapped from the start. But you have picked up speed and have made a beautiful piece so far. The real reward will come when you finish the project… regardless of the date it’s done.
August 18, 2008 at 11:51 pm. Permalink.
Dava replied:
Oh, you may lose a point on execution, but I think you’ll make it up on your interpretation and artistic skills.
As I look at the photo, on the upper right-hand corner right on the row of live stitches, it looks like there’s a gap on the second ladder-thingy going in from the edge (sorry, I never knit lace, so I don’t know what those stitches are called). Might that be a misstep in your pattern, thereby messing up your stitch count? I’m just guessing. I know knitting lace is wonky when you are knitting it but smooths out after blocking.
I know when it’s all blocked out, it’s going to look really amazing and you’ll have more
fabulous photos to show us!
August 19, 2008 at 7:26 am. Permalink.
samantha replied:
I’ve been knitting this too…and honestly? I’m so frustrated with it. I need to get into the grove of knitting it, and it takes a while to get there. and there’s NO way to anticipate the pattern! yours looks lovely!
August 19, 2008 at 9:51 am. Permalink.
Meredith replied:
If you are missing just one stitch it probably is a missing YO. If it’s not on the current row or the one just beneath it, fudge by adding a stitch in the proper area (which means you need to go through the pattern to figure out just WHERE the stitch is missing) and move forward. If the YO is on the current row or the one just beneath it, it’s a breeze to add. Just pick up the “leg” between stitches on the current row. If on the row below, pick up the leg in the row below and put on needle, the take the leg on the current row, put it on the needle. Pass the “row below” leg over the “current” row leg, et voila!
It’s looking beautiful so far!!!!!
August 19, 2008 at 10:39 am. Permalink.
Tory replied:
You can do it, Genuine! It looks beautiful! You can totally handle 44 rows a day, right?
And I say that you just add in the missing stitch at one of the ends, and move onward, unless that screws up the lace pattern.
Keep us posted 🙂
August 19, 2008 at 10:43 am. Permalink.
knittenkitten80 replied:
I add missed stitches from time to time and so far it hasn’t crashed a pattern yet. I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s lovely so far.
August 19, 2008 at 12:49 pm. Permalink.
Kathy replied:
Aunt Kathy has the right idea. Keep knitting and enjoying the Olympics. The late nights have been affecting my days, but I love the gymnastics.
August 19, 2008 at 4:58 pm. Permalink.
jinniver replied:
Keep knitting away–you can do it! The whole idea to the Ravelympics was to challenge yourself, and you’ve clearly done so, so you’ve already “won.” 🙂 I think your wrap is looking great so far, and I agree with everyone else who’s said to just add the stitch either a) where you can see it’s needed or b) at an end if you don’t see where it’s needed. You can probably find where it should go by counting the stitches between the lace motifs you already have so you can continue to line them up. I’ve got a lace scarf in progress where I’ve been off by 2 stitches…and trust me, there are a lot less than 80+ stitches there. And yet you can’t tell where I made the mistake, even though I was never able to figure out where it happened and have no lifeline. (Yeah, I live dangerously…)
August 19, 2008 at 6:36 pm. Permalink.
tana replied:
It’s gorgeous so far. I can only speak to what I would do, but because our personalities are so different – this might not work for you. I’d rip back till the number of stitches on my needles was correct. But that’s me. And this is why you don’t see a ton of finished objects on my Rav page. 🙂 I’m getting better – I don’t fix every stinkin mistake, but if I thought it might be seen or noticable after a few more rows, I’ll redo.
All your other commenters are telling you to do the sane thing 🙂 Do the sane thing. It’s natural that when a deadline looms, mistakes might be more prevalant because we’re hurrying.
August 20, 2008 at 5:12 pm. Permalink.
kissmyknits replied:
I wrote my comment when I was pretty sleepy and I realize that this phrase: “but because our personalities are so different,” came off wrong. I don’t mean you and I have different personalities (I don’t really know whether we do or not) – I meant, “Hey, everyone is different, here’s what I would do which might not work for everyone.”
I know that I’m over-explaining. 🙂
August 22, 2008 at 8:34 pm. Permalink.