Ouch

Sorry to my poor mannequin. She became a pin cushion today.

Ley Lines stretched out. Now I'm excited. I think it looks awesome! And it's starting to look like the picture on the pattern.

There was a bit of a problem yesterday.

The ball on the top right was the first ball that I started to knit with. When in skeins, the colours looked similar. I realized that I might run out yesterday afternoon so I wound the bottom ball. It is totally different. I started working 2 rows of one ball then 2 rows of the second ball. Then it hit me. I'm going to run out of the original colour. I'd end up finishing the shawl with the bottom ball which is definitely more brown. I wound a third skein - top left. It is different again. Now I'm knitting one row of each colour, carrying the extra threads up the side. If you really look you can see where I started alternating balls but when the shawl is finished no one will know unless I point it out.

There are a few lessons to my sad tale

1. If you are knitting Ley Lines, you can carry the yarn up the side of your work and you won't see it. The first two stitches and last two stitches of every right side row are knit. Carrying the yarn up the side actually made my edge stitches neater and the floats are hidden on the back.

2. If you are working with yarns that have been kettle dyed (like Manos or Malabrigo), work with at least two, if not three balls at once. They might look close but when knit they could be very different.

Now it's time to get back to the shawl. I am so excited by how it looks on the mannequin that I want it finished. Like now. There are other yarns swimming in my head that will make a fabulous Ley Lines.