Haven't been here in a while

March was a hectic month, and I feel like I missed it entirely!  However, I do have some fibering updates.  Today's helpful tip is about keeping track of rows in pattern repeats.  I just finished my third Ashton shawlette (pictures later, after they're blocked) and realized that it's incredibly easy to forget which pattern row you are working on, especially if you set the work down for some reason ... and who doesn't have a spouse, kids, the phone, or something that causes you to leave your work and have to pick it up and say, "Where in the world am I in the pattern?"  So here's my hint, complete with pictures:

Using the "safety pin" style stitch markers, I count how many rows or pattern rows are in a complete pattern and count out that number of safety pin markers.  When I get ready to start a new pattern row on a shawl, or a new row on socks that have a pattern, I move a marker from the "waiting to be knitted" marker to the "already been knitted" marker. When I have finished the complete pattern, I shift all the markers to the "waiting" spot and start again.  It has been hugely helpful on the Ashton shawlette (to which I added extra patterns to be a full-sized shawl) which has a 12 pattern row repeat.  On these socks, that have an 8-row pattern that rows 1 and 5 are different from the rest, I use the orange marker to designate row 1 so I always know which of the unique rows I'm doing.  On these socks I am supposed to increase one on each side of the sole every other row, so the markers also help me keep track of which one was an increase row.

(Obviously the flash was on in the top picture, which is closer to the color.)  You can see the orange marker all by hiimself, showing that I'm ready to start row 1 of the pattern, then there is a green marker joining him to remind me that I'm doing row 2.