Life's a Stitch

I never pictured myself as a knitter of Fair Isle, especially on size three needles. My first Fair Isle was accomplished at a class featuring a  Philosopher’s Wool pattern with12 beautiful colours. I went in with trepidation, but was relieved when I discovered the following:

1. Although a Fair Isle pattern may have many colours, you are generally only knitting with two in any given row.
2. Many patterns can be knit in the round eliminating the need to purl to achieve stockinette.
3. The strands of yarn don’t tangle because you knit with both hands, one colour in each.
4. Since you are adding new colours at the extra stitches in the middle of the front, a.k.a. the steek, you don’t need to weave in the ends since you will cut the steek anyway.
5. You usually don’t have to read the chart stitch by stitch. More often than not, a repetitive rhythmic pattern emerges and after a series of stitches you no longer have to refer to the chart for that row.
6. Forget the analogy to a knitting episiotomy, cutting up the steek is not traumatic.

Seriously, you can do it! So, here is Marina with a pattern emerging: