Life-lines

You’ve heard me talk about fear before.  Fear has governed most of my life and it is just now that I am understanding how to really listen to what my fears have been trying to tell me.  I guess that truly I have been listening to the voice of my fear and letting it be the front runner to my experiences, but now I am learning how to co-create with my fear and we are working on a relationship where both parties are heard and each of our contributions are valued.

Each fear is rooted in something that is usually buried so deep within that I have to peel back layer after layer until I reach it.  But when I do then healing and understanding can start and that is where everything begins to change.

It surely isn’t easy, no relationship usually is.  They take work and time and a lot of listening.  So when I start getting fearful about something instead of taking a defensive stance where I become at odds with my inner self, I ask, “Why do you feel this way?”  “What would ease you in this situation?  “How can we work together?”

These answers are not easy to come by if you are just starting to listen to that voice within…but answers will come if you are constantly trying to create an inner dialogue.  As you create a solid relationship more things will be revealed that you have pushed deep down without knowing it.

This inner connection that one can create by truly listening to one’s self then can be utilized in everyday communication with others.  Listening without judgment or expectation is a beautiful gift you can give to yourself or another person.  So many of us just want to be heard that is such a blessing beyond measure when someone truly listens to us.

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Last week I spoke about creating and how creativity weaves itself through everything we do we just have to see it.  As a teacher, I see one of the things that cause people to stop creating is when something goes wrong in their knitting they give up.  They berate themselves for dropping a or missing a stitch.  Over time these words cause deep hurt within us and start to dictate the way we craft.

When I started knitting I would always tell people that there was no way that I would ever be able to use double-pointed needles. I truly thought that I was not clever enough to handle them.  Flash forward and I use them all the time the now without a second thought.

I used to be afraid of a new stitch or technique that I would somehow mess it up…now I just say Bring It On!  I love learning new things and if I don’t succeed the first few times that is part of the process.  

Not being able to grasp something the first time does not make me a failure.  It allows me to grow and find a way that this new thing works with how I knit and then I shape my experience around it.

Vixenpath, our family crafting company, is about empowerment.  If you know how to fix something, then you are more likely to want to try it.  It is like a backdoor of safety that you have tucked away just in case.

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The green life-line is preserving the row of lace stitches.

Let’s talk about life-lines.  A life-line is a simple contrasting color yarn in the same weight or a little under the one that you are knitting with that you bring through all of your stitches with a blunt yarn needle on a row that you are satisfied is correct.

This “line” is a magical time machine that will take you back to that row anytime anything goes wrong.  It is like pressing “save” in your knitting and knowing that you just backed up your progress.

I use these all the time.  When I design I may have three or four of them so that I can drop back to different stages in the pattern if need be.

They are great for lace patterns where there are a lot of yarn overs to rip back to and they are easy to drop if one is not careful.

They work in cables and other patterns too.

This simple step has saved me hours of knitting.

Note:  if you have markers on the row you are inserting a life-line on, do not bring the line through them.  lol  Learned that the hard way.

Also, make sure that you are not splitting any stitches as you go through them with the yarn needle.  It isn't horrible if you do, but you will have to put the plies back together before proceeding.

Finally, give your line a tug from both ends to even it out before continuing with your knitting.  Take care not to grab any of the line with your new stitches.

To insert a life-line:

• Get a blunt yarn needle.  Sharp needles tend to split stitches.
• Thread your yarn needle in a contrasting yarn the same weight or a little less then what you are knitting with.  Some people like to use floss and that is fine too if that is what you are comfortable with.
• Bring your yarn needle through each stitch on your current row, taking care not to split any and avoiding any stitch markers.
• Knit the next row, as usual, taking care not to knit into the line.

And that is it.

When you are happy with your knitting, you can create a new line on your current row.  You can either leave the old line or remove it easily by gently pulling it out of your knitted fabric.  

If you are not happy with your knitting, you can drop all your current stitches and rip back to that line knowing all your stitches are safe and secure.

Next week we will discuss dropped stitches and how to fix them.

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions regarding this or any of my other tutorials, please feel free to leave a question in the comments.

Happy crafting!

Ruinwen

😀