Lace knitting is a bit of a confusing beast to some knitters. It is generally something that makes newbie knitters want to hide behind the sofa when they first take a look at a pattern.
Last year I threw myself into my first lace knitted item. I found the toughest part of the whole lace knitting process was keeping to the pattern. And, being a knitting girl on the go, it is a nightmare to have to keep a book open and a pen handy to keep your place. In fact I lost my place in the pattern so many times that I was about ready to give up. Knitting is meant to be restful, stress releasing and lovely. You are not meant to be sitting on a train with a book sliding off your lap, trying to remember if you just psso or if you were meant to do that next (and with some yarns it is hard to tell), and where did your pen disappear too!?
So in the end I invented a helpful tool to get me through the travelling lace pattern blues. I grabbed a clear plastic pocket I had been given once as a security pass. They are small enough to fit in your pocket, are made of clear plastic (perfect for sliding in a bit of paper with a few lines of pattern on), and best of all they have a pin at the top. This allows you to write out a few lines of your lace pattern, slide it into the pocket, pin the pocket to your jeans/bag/fellow train passenger, and there you are. No bulky book, no losing your page, and no losing your place.
My other handy little helper I bought online and can’t do without. Clover’s mini Kacha allows you to keep track of your rows and look like a knitting Mr T in the bargain. It is a tiny row counter you can hang round your neck. Gone are the days of making little marks on a piece of scrap paper, which helps you save the planet a little bit too. It also locks, useful for running for the last bus or friends who may be a bit click happy.
And they are not just for knitting on the move. They are pretty much essential for those with little ones wandering about, and perfect if you tend to spill tea/wine/your dinner on everything and anything (both wipe clean).
