math and the choices it makes

you know when a pattern says

something like ‘decrease 12 sts evenly over the next row’?

that makes me nuts. as a designer if i wanted to do the math myself

i’d be writing my own new pattern, you know?

i always feel frustrated when a pattern

expects me to do the work

instead of instructing

me on what

to do.

this week i stumbled upon

eskmimi’s knitulator’ over on pinterest.

not only is it cute as a button, but it’s waiting there

at all times, ready to do the work. how cool is that?

you just tell it how many stitches

you’re starting with

and how many stitches you want to have at the end of the rowThe-knitulator-knitting-calculator-for-increases-and-decreasesand it will tell you how exactly to space either increases or decreases to get the job done.

it’s sort of a pattern lifeline, right?

i so bookmarked it.

besides finding this fun tool this week,

i also released a new pattern.

the pattern (wait for it) is called ‘lifelined’. yup, it sure is.

well, only i released the first part of the pattern.

as the pattern stands right now,

it uses super bulky yarn

(which if you know me at all, you know i love).

the next part of the pattern is the modifications for using

other yarns: bulky, aran, worsted and dk weight to be exact.

that’s all being tested right now.

when it’s done, i’ll send out a pattern update

so that if you already bought ‘lifelined’

for super bulky yarn,

you’ll get an updated pdf with the numbers for yarns

all the way down to dk weight.

pretty good, right? but, there’s more.

also being test knit right now

is a slight variation on the variations that can make a similar neck wrap (or shawl)

out of sport weight or fingering weight yarn.

this pattern of variations might get knit up in the heavier weights, too

if the math works out. still in the number crunching phase at the moment.

so, while i’m pondering the options

and you’re waiting for them to be seeable,

at least i can show you ‘lifelined’ as it is in the super bulky of lana grossa ‘ambiente’.'lifelined' collage with back shotit’s not a triangle, but has five points.

so when deciding just how to drape it around yourself, there are lots of options.

obviously, i love options.

i’m feeling chatty, but itching to knit,

so i’ll end here and go play with some yarn.

i give you permission to do the same.

but only if you smile.

‘released’ taken from 16:36 of acts.