Guten morgen, meine liebe Freunde!

Forgive my German and the slight lateness of this blog post. :) I've been spending the weekend with German relatives in Tahoe. My younger brother got married last night and all of the family is visiting. The above greeting means "Good morning my dear friends!" Or something close to that. :) In any case, I do truly apologize for being a bit late. This post is a bit of a long one and it was important to me that it be just right because it could be a bit confusing if you haven't done this type of project before.

I am really excited about today though, because we get to do a little lace. I think many of you are rested and ready for a little excitement too. The beginning of this section is a bit tricky because we are separating the front from the back and working the lace sections flat wit button bands on either side. 

You will need some extra stitch markers for this section, so grab two that are a different color than what you have used for your beginning of the round marker. Also, you are going to need an extra circular needle and a cable needle or double point needle to hold some live stitches. These "extra" needles can be of any size. They are just going to be place holders. 

Since we will be working the fronts and backs separately, we'll start with the front, and the back stitches will rest on the extra circular needle while we do that. You can also use stitch holders or waste yarn to hold those stitches as well. Whatever is easiest for you. For those of you who have no clue what I mean, I'll explain more when we get to that point.

Abbreviations:

k- knit

p- purl

yo- yarn over

yo2- yarn over 2 times, double yo

k1 f&b- knit on front and back, an increase

k2tog- knit 2 together, a decrease

*For help with any of these knitting terms, I find that www.knittinghelp.com has the best glossary with videos. 

Here we go with Clue #4. You've just finished your third repeat of the purl ridge. We are going to continue working in garter stitch for 4 more rounds as follows- see * note below for directions on placing stitch markers on the 4th Round:

Round 1: Knit

Round 2: Purl

Round 3: Knit

Round 4: Purl

*On the last purl round, place markers as follows: p30, pm (place marker), p60, pm, p30.

Separating the front from the back:

-Remove beginning of round marker and cut yarn leaving at least a 6" tail.

-Working from the beginning of the round, slip stitches from left to right needle to 2 sts before the first side marker. 

-Rejoin yarn, K1 f&b (5 times), slipping marker when you come to it. (You should have 2 increases on the right side of the marker and 3 on the left side.)

-Knit to 3 sts before the next marker.

-K1 f&b (5 times), slipping marker when you come to it. (You should have 3 increases on the right side of the marker and 2 on the left side.)

-K to 4 sts before the next marker.

-Knit next st with main needle, slip 2nd st onto extra needle holding towards the inside of your work (or you can use a darning needle to thread in your waste yarn).

-Continue working the next 8 stitches in this manner, knit one with main needle, slip one on extra needle or waste yarn. Remove stitch marker when you come to it.

-You will have knit 5 sts on main needle, and slipped 5 onto extra circular or waste yarn.

-Leaving main needle for a minute, use extra circular needle or waste yarn to slip all stitches up to 5 sts before the next marker.

-Slip next stitch with extra double point needle (DPN) or cable needle and hold to front, slip next stitch onto circular needle or waste yarn held in back.

-Continue slipping 1 stitch onto DPN or cable needle, and the next stitch onto extra circular or waste yarn until you have 5 sts on the DPN or cable needle. Remove stitch marker when you come to it.

-You should now have 66 sts (this is the back) on extra circular or waste yarn with 5 sts on either end that overlap with 5 sts on the front section. The back section's sts will be on the inside while the front is on the outside.

-Slip stitches from DPN or cable needle onto right side end of main circular needle.

-You should now have 64 sts on main/front needle, this is the front.

Leaving the back sts on holder, work front panel as follows:

-Row 1: k 5, pm, p to last 5 sts, pm, k 5

-Begin working modified Bird's Eye Lace as follows while at the same time working button holes (directions are just below the lace directions.)

Bird's Eye Lace:

Set-up lace rows 1-6:

             -Row 1 (RS): k5, *k2tog, yo2, k2tog; repeat from * to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, k5. (63 sts)

             -Row 2 (WS): k5, p1, *p1, (k1, p1) into double yo, p1; repeat from * to marker, k5.

             -Row 3: k5 *yo2, k2tog, k2tog; repeat from * to 1 stitch before marker, yo2, k1, k5. (65 sts)

             -Row 4: k5, *p1, (k1, p1) into double yo, p1; repeat from * to last double yo, k1, p1, k5. 

             -Row 5: k5, k1, *k2tog, yo2, k2tog; repeat from * to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, k5. (64 sts)

             -Row 6: k5, *p2, (k1, p1) into double yo; repeat from * to 2 sts before marker, p2, k5. 
             
Lace Pattern repeat:

             -Row 7: k5, k1, *yo2, k2tog (twice); repeat from * to 1 st before marker, yo2, k1, k5. (66 sts)
             -Row 8: k5, p1, *(k1, p1) into double yo, p2; repeat from * to 3 sts before marker, (k1, p1) into                 
                          double yo, p1, k5.
             -Row 9: k5, *k2tog (twice), yo2; repeat from * to 4 sts before marker, k2tog (twice), k5 (64 sts)
             -Row 10: k5, *p2, (k1, p1) into double yo; repeat from * to 2 sts before marker, p2, k5. 

             

*repeat rows 7-10 of the Birds Eye Lace until front measures 5.5" ending with a row 10.

Button Holes:  

*Every 6th row or so, you will work button holes in the 5 sts on either side of the lace pattern on the outside of the stitch markers. You want your button holes to be spaced about 1"-1.5" apart. This isn't an exact science, so space them however you prefer.  

-k2, yo, k2tog, k1, slip marker, work Birds Eye Lace across on whatever row you are on, slip marker, k1, k2tog, yo, k2

-Once your piece measures 5.5" and you've finished your Birds Eye Lace, you should have about 5 or 6 button holes depending on how closely you spaced them.

Here is a swatch of the lace pattern knit up:



Notice how the double yarn overs are alternated/staggered? The result should be a very open lace pattern. Almost like chain mail. ;)

Finishing:

-Work 6 rows of garter stitch (knit every row).

-Bind off.

This is it for Clue #4! I will try to check in later this afternoon if there are questions on the Ravelry Group, but I have family obligations most of the day. I will definitely be back tomorrow and easy to reach then. I know this is a lot of info and it may be new to some of you. You CAN do it! Just take a breath, relax, and as my co-worker Jeanne always says, "It's JUST knitting." 

Happy knitting everyone, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Kristen