Picture this…You’re sitting in your favorite place, feet propped up, pattern nestled in your lap. Needles are clicking away to the beat of your favorite music, stitch markers are passing in a blur, and life is good. WHAM! You stop. Could you really be off by two stitches? You recount once, twice. Awe crap, missed that yarn over in the lace repeat 6 rows down. Let the TINKing begin (accompanied by a few choice words and grumbling of course).
How many times have you done that? For me, I can’t even count that high. I have recently found that lifelines are the best thing since sliced gluten free bread. How can a simple thread woven through a row be so wonderful and annoying at the same time? Because it saves you from ripping back that project and starting again. It’s not just for lacework. It’s for any time you are beginning a new repeat that is 10 million rows long or you are halfway done with a gorgeous blanket, the due date is 2 weeks away, and the thought of messing up now makes you want to vomit. You know that feeling.
Until now I used lifelines sporadically, mostly when it’s something like a sample for a shop, something that HAS to be perfect. As I delve into the wonderful world of design, I find myself using them all the time. Just because the pattern I’m writing makes sense on paper really doesn’t guarantee it will work on the needles. I find that using a lifeline is like doing a CTRL + S. You get the opportunity to save your work. As I’m working through my shawl, I find that this often snubbed piece of waste yarn has saved me from getting more gray hair. It’s saved me from screaming into a pillow, from deciding that design isn’t for me, from some really unlady like language.
So my tip of the week is to use the lifeline people. It’s worth it. Your family will thank you.
VIDEO: Inserting a lifeline
VIDEO: Cool trick using a lifeline with circular needles
