She's added a "rounds" feature, so that all of the row numbers can appear on the same side of the chart if you like. This is a wonderful thing when one is knitting around and around, rather than turning the work and knitting across the wrong side. Check it out!
Click here for more information - - Inna's Wonderful and Spectacular chart generator
Here is the spiral shawl chart with the new chart numbering method - how great is this?
My only regret is that I'm not a knitting designer... but who knows - with such a lovely tool, maybe I'll suddenly get creative!
I taught the few sessions of my first knitting class - How to Knit the Baby Surprise Jacket. Oh my gosh, I didn't know that it was possible to have so much fun on a Saturday afternoon. Honestly, this was so much fun that even though the class was supposed to last only two sessions, I keep finding ways to schedule supplementary sessions... lol. Thanks to my extraordinary students, Karin and Allie, maybe we'll just meet weekly to knit baby surprise sweaters, yes?
Even more exciting than knitting baby surprise sweaters was the discovery that Allie raises alpaca, so... Field Trip! I can't wait. First, it's gotta stop all of this ridiculous snowing. I know, I know, I live in Colorado and all, but for the past ~8 years, it's hardly snowed *at all* in my part of the state, and yes, I'm kinda spoiled... When the alpaca field trip happens - maybe about mid July (lol), I'll take loads of pictures and post them here. Take a look at Eye Dazzler Alpacas, and tell Allie that I said, "Hi!"
Alpaca – ah… alpaca. As it turns out, there is actually a connection here. For the first time, I’m knitting with alpaca yarn, and for the first time, I’m knitting lace. Yes, I just finished that baby shawl which features actual yarn overs, lol, but it’s not “real” lace. Or maybe it’s just really simple lace. I thought that my black lace shrug was challenging – HA! My Print o’the Wave shrug was a walk in the park compared to this little dragon.
I bought the kit, Heere Be Dragone, from Sharon Winsauer, which includes the pattern and the yarn – a very fine alpaca/silk blend in a yummy plum color. It’s positively delightful. Unfortunately – another first – my bad boy Domino – my big black ex-Tom cat and knitting buddy – well, he thinks that it’s yummy yarn, too, so I have to keep it closed up in a gallon-sized plastic ice cream bucket to keep him from chewing on the yarn. If it’s not one thing, it’s ten, eh?
Here is the very tip of her lovely tail.
Actually, in a few rows, the tip of her pointy little tail will be completed – what you see here is the tip of the shawl, lol. Here is a picture of the completed project - - Sharon supplied this picture. 
Isn’t it great?Sharon wrote to me about the stretchy cast on that I posted on my tutorial site, Rosemary Knits Tutorial and attached this photo to the note. I had no idea that I wanted to knit a dragon shawl, but gosh, once I saw the picture, I had no choice – it was absolutely out of my control - I had to knit this pattern. Funny how that works out, yes?
What you see in my photo above is trial run #2. I’ve already knitted up this far once, sigh, and ripped it out, and I think that I’m going to rip it out again. Long Sigh. It makes me feel much better if I refer to this as my “dragon swatch,” lol. The first rip-out was because my knitting was sooooooooo loose, and this time around, it’s only sooooo loose, lol. How about those giant yarn overs, eh? This and the fact that my horizontal stitches are on the BACK – what’s with that? I was knitting in low-light conditions, and I didn’t see what I was doing…. SIGH… so I think that the third time will be the charm, don’t you agree?
There is a yahoo group dedicated to knitting this shawl – check it out! There are links to lots of photos of completed shawls, and shawls in progress -
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