Something remarkable happened yesterday. I fell in love with a yarn and didn't buy it! I mean yet. I haven't bought it YET. For the first time I decided to find a project/pattern first, then buy the yarn. The yarn in question is Malabrigo Lace. I went to my LYS to get some other skeins and they hade rearranged the shop a little. Normally I just skip the lace weights because I don't do scarves. But now all the lace skeins are just beside the counter and I couldn't help picking a Malabrigo up. It was the softest little skein! So incredibly soft I thought it was silk (which I also never buy since I don't like the process of making silk). But it was baby merino wool. Instant love. Even on their website Malabrigo says:
When you experience Malabrigo Lace, you connect with a special place of the world. So there you have it. It's not just my imagination.
But I never make scarves. I'm just not a scarves person. But I do like lace patterns and they work perfect with scarves. But the casting on! My god. I hate casting on and some scarf patterns call for casting on A LOT of stitches, depending on design. Normally when I read patterns and they start with "Cast on 230 sts..." my eyes get blind and I just go to the next pattern. And when I looked through a couple of nice scarves I found one pattern that called for casting on over 1200 sts! It freaks me out. I would never manage doing that. Just imagine control counting the cast on. It would take all day. Are there any tips or tricks for casting on that many stitches?
But of course, I can knit wristlets or a baby cowl or something for Isola instead. Because I have to have that yarn. Next time, Malabrigo Lace, you will be mine.
When I have to cast on a truck load of stitches, I place a marker after every 20 - making sure that I use a specific color for all major milestone spots like 100, 150 and so on.
ReplyDeleteThank you, great idea! I suppose this method is essential if I ever venture to cast on that many stitches. Normally I use paper clips as markers...
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