Dear Mary Carey - I have knitted for decades, although I admit that my obcession with bobbin lace sharply cut into my knitting time for about ten years. But between the time I stopped, and the time I started again, the knitting world had embraced graphs, and after following them (or diagrams) for bobbin lace for so long, knitting from them was second nature.
I would strongly encourage her to learn to work from graphs, as they are so much easier to follow (in my experience), and therefore you work faster. I have a couple of pointers... 1. You work the chart from the bottom up. Row 1 is the first row you knit in the pattern, and it's read (and worked) from right to left. 2. Just like other graphs, the symbols used for particular stitches may be different from one designer to another, so it's very important to study the chart that is always provided to identify what each symbol means. 3. Since she is working a shawl, she would work the second row reading the graph from left to right... although she is still working right to left. I know this sounds confusing, but with a little practice, she'll get used to it. And, in a shawl, it is entirely possible that the pattern is the same from either direction, so she could check that to be sure. I'd also encourage her to find a friendly LKS... local knitting shop... where she can get lots of expert advice. If she chances on the oddball place which is unfriendly because she didn't buy her supplies from them, then tell her to move on.... they're not worth her custom. A good shop will encourage and help her regardless, because they know she'll come back to them lfor the supplies for her next project! I hope she finds joy and relaxation in her knitting! Clay Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA. USA mary carey <[email protected]> wrote: >Hi All, > >Treated my eldest daughter - lives in Windsor, Ontario - to some credit at a >local knitting store for her birthday and Christmas - and she is already >knitting a shawl. She asked me questions I could not answer about knitting >from a graph. Have worked from a graph on lots of occasions for crochet and >tatting but not knitting. Yes, I knit but not from a graph. > >Did tatting lessons with her once - we both had a copy to the same book and >was able to ask her to refer to a specific page, and it was before Skype too. > >I hope to make a baby shawl for another daughter's baby (due April) but I will >dust off my knitting machine for that. I also have a large spool of pink >cotton to try lace knitting - a machine has an amazing range of possibilities >if one cares to explore them. > >If anyone can help with a simple explanation, please email me privately. > >Mary Carey >Campbelltown, NSW, Australia > >- >To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: >unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to >[email protected]. Photo site: >http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
