I’m back to knitting a shawl, Waiting for Rain. I’m using the yarn I bought specifically for this project at Beehive in Victoria. Loving the yarn. Also loving the pattern, this is one of the new superstars that many people are knitting. 
It is wonderful to have so many creative knitters how there who actually come up with a new way of knitting a shawl. This is a crescent shaped shawl, knit mostly with garter stitch and some lace inserts.
The Norwegian super wash yarn is just yummy to knit with. Smooth, soft, yet shows great stitch definition.
Knitting a lace pattern means using stitch markers – a lot of them. Stitch markers are like socks – always getting lost. I have been making my own for a while, it was time to replenish the supply.
Here is the newest batch. Yay for Michaels! They are constantly updating their supplies. So the cute beads with jump-ring attached are the perfect decoration. Just open the jump-ring, put on earring and voila! Double purpose, stitch markers and in case of emergency – earrings.
The beaded marker is one that I made two years ago. Same earring hardware, but I wire wrapped the bead myself. It’s fun to change out the decoration. The nice thing about these wires is that they open and close, so I can move the marker around whenever I need. They also slip along easily on the needle. The decoration isn’t just for looks, the bead makes the marker more visible and easy to find.
Just a look at a pile of markers. There are the standard Clover ‘diaper pins’, a few store bought makers that are similar but in metal. My earrings, as well as some closed markers that are simply wire-wrapped beads with a large loop. These are very good for a continuous lace pattern where there never is any change in the number of stitches in a repeat. I’ve lost a lot of those, really don’t know how and don’t know where.
Culling the herd. These markers are being banished to a drawer. I won’t throw them away in case I need them in an emergency. The way I lose markers, that is bound to happen soon.
The marker with the horse may be cute, but oh so impractical. The horse constantly snagged on yarn – very bad.
The large marker was fine for big needles, but the bead is big and heavy.
The earrings are the wrong style. When my friend Brenda mentioned using earring wires as stitch markers, I jumped on the idea. I didn’t think it through and I bought these which do not slide easily on the needles. Live and learn.
Starting the next lace section, separating out the repeats. It’s fun with these little jewels, may need to make another batch.
Leah