More Sleeves!

I didn't get much done over the weekend that I can show yet, but I did get some done on the sleeves for my cardi! I'm now almost past the lace parts of the cuffs and only have to do the stockinette sections. I still have no buttons for this cardi, but I'm making myself wait until after I've got the new sock pattern finished before I go button shopping.

I mentioned before that I had replaced the bobbles as the pattern had called for with knots, so I'll give details now, since clearly I am not knitting on this very fast. Knots are basically small bobble relatives that will give a similar effect, only not quite as "bobbly" - I think they look a little more grown up than the standard bobble does. These are really simple to make, although there are probably more ways to make one and get a similar effect. When you get to the place where a bobble goes (according to the chart), you just make a knot as follows: (K1, P1 - 2 times) then pass the first 3 stitches made over the last stitch made. You'll need to pull your yarn tight on the next stitch and on the following row, make sure you work the stitches tightly and pinch the knot from the right side to keep it from trying to hide on the back of the work. That's all there is to it. No knitting back and forth over an area, no freakish little growth-like looking things, just a small, tasteful bump.

Finally, there was a question in the comments about Mystery Stole 4. There are plans for a Mystery Stole 4, but I am not going to be the designer this year, I will be one of the moderators. My mother, Georgina Bow of Georgina Bow Creations will be the designer and List Mom for this year's KAL. We are also planning on running it later in the year than previous Mystery Stoles. I and my Co-Moderator from last year both have kids and it's just easier to devote the amount of time the MS KAL takes when kids are in school. So, our plans at this point are to open signups towards the end of Summer, with the first clue going out after the Summer Olympics wrap up. We realize that this probably isn't as convenient for teachers who have participated in the past, but keeping up with 400+ emails a day just isn't possible or fair to our families during the summer months.

The next question always asked is, "How will I know when sign ups are open for the KAL?" There are two definite ways to find out about sign ups: you can either read this blog and I'll let you know when we open the group, or join Pink Lemon Knits and you'll get an email when signups are open. Pink Lemon Knits is my Yahoo group used ONLY for announcements (no discussion on the group, so if you sign up, please sign up for regular mail announcements - not Special Notice Only or No Mail*). I use it to announce new pattern availability as well as new Mystery Stole KAL's. You will probably get fewer than a dozen emails a year through this group, but it will keep you in the loop about goings on around here at the Pink Lemon. For more information, or to sign up, CLICK THIS LINK.

*If you are already a member of Pink Lemon Knits and are set up as No Mail or Special Notice Only, I strongly suggest you change your settings for this group to Individual Emails or Daily Digest. There are so few posts per year (I'm the only one who can post to the group) that it would be easy to forget to check around sign up time and miss out on the cut off date, and in order to send notices to Special Notice Only people, I have to check a box at the group's site when I send a post to the group. If I send the post through regular email or if I forget to check the Special Notice Box (I tend to work online in an uncaffeinated state), you'll miss out, which pretty much defeats the purpose of signing up for the group in the first place. Like I mentioned, I am the only one who posts to this group, so you don't have to deal with the kind of email madness that the Mystery Stole group generates.