Follow-up: Living dangerously

I am back from my travels. DC was lovely, but too much time spent in the Convention Center and a nasty cold put a bit of a damper on my trip. But que sera...

Since I am sure you are all at the edge of your seats, I did decide to start on a Branching Out scarf to make the most of my quality airport time. TSA didn't bat an eye at my knitting needles, which was good because I didn't bother to buy bamboo needles. The big scary aluminum ones made it through security just fine.

So, back to knitting. I am using some Rowan Calmer yarn for it in a very pretty gray blue (#463 I think). Very soft and lovely to work with. I'm using size 7 needles. Your supposed to use 8's, but I couldn't find mine before I left town. So, my scarf will be a bit skinnier than planned. Oh well.

Conveniently, since this pattern has been available for a little while, I was able to benefit from the experience of others. Did you know there was an entire blog devoted to the trials and tribulations of this particular pattern? There is.

For the most part it looked like the yarn overs (YO) were the source of most of the confusion. Some instruction books make it sound like the YO includes wrapping the yarn and then knitting or purling. Nope, just the yarn bit. You could see how that would totally mess up your stitch count if you didn't know.

The best tip I was able to come up with for myself was using free conference post-it notes to mark which line of the pattern I am working on. For me anyway, this pattern is challenging and I need a little assistance to make sure I work the right row at the right time. Very helpful when people try to talk to you at the airport. Can't they see I'm knitting? Quit talking to me.

So far, I have completed 8 pattern repeats. I would probably have finished more, but a stop at Second Story Books while I was in DC meant I spent most of the trip home reading. (I can't help myself)

Anyway, I am quite impressed with me and my 8 pattern repeats. So far, I haven't had to do any major frogging and it is coming together quite nicely. As long as I pay attention to the pattern, I can totally do this. Lace, ladies and gentleman! Lace.

When do you get to call yourself an "intermediate" knitter? I'll post pictures soon. You can be the judge.