I’m really enjoying working on the the lace shawl, even though I rarely actually sit down and work on it. I have been a bit hesitant because I don’t want to mess up and I haven’t had a chance to go get something like a magnetic board to hold my place on the chart.

But I sat down in my office during lunch to work on it and found a great way to keep track. I have a row counter to keep track of the rows I’ve completed. I blew up the charts from the pattern and re-printed them so that I can see them better. That helps. I placed them flat on my desk and used a ruler to "underline" which row in the chart I’m working. I’m using stitch markers to mark the repeat section because I know if I don’t I’ll get confused.

One thing that is frustrating me though is that I keep forgetting to work the chart left to right on wrong side rows. So I start counting to make sure my stitches are correct and they aren’t. I freak out, rip back to the previous row, then realize they are right, I’m just looking at the chart backwards.

I haven’t placed any lifelines yet. I’m not sure where to put them, plus I’m not sure what yarn to use. I’m working the shawl in DK weight yarn on size 7 needles, so I guess fingering weight sock yarn would work. I’ve also been holding off because I ordered the Options set from KnitPicks (woohoo!, happy birthday to me!) and I’m sort of waiting for those to come in. They have those little holes that you can thread some crochet cotton into and lifeline as you knit. I think that would make it easier. And I have loads of crochet cotton I can spare.