The Gypsy Rover came over the hill
And down to the valley so shady.
He whistled and he sang
'Til the green woods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.

That song runs through my head every time I pick up the the fuchsia lace, and so, of course, the name of the shawl will be Gypsy Girl. It's going very smoothly and pleasantly, albeit slowly, so far. I have some ideas in my head about where it is headed, and I'm charting as I go - staying about 10 rows ahead on the chart.




Of course, those rows keep getting wider. Would an intelligent knitter put in a lifeline about now?

New (to me) Trick. When I need a provisional cast on I usually crochet a chain with waste yarn, then pick up stitches through the bumps at the back of the chain. I've always found the picking up part a bit of a pain. So I was pleased to find directions, at the back of Victorian Lace Today, for working the chain directly onto the needle. I think I have seen this described somewhere as a Japanese cast on. At any rate, I had never done it before.



It starts with a slip knot on a crochet hook.



The working yarn goes in back of the needle.



Crochet hook goes over the needle and catches working yarn.



Pull yarn through the loop that is on the crochet hook.



Bring the working yarn under the needle tip to the back and repeat.
Keep going until you have one less stitch than desired total on the needle. Slip the loop on the crochet hook onto the needle.

Drop the waste yarn, pick up the working yarn and start knitting. When you want those provisional stitches, unzip the waste yarn like a regular crochet chain.

Of course, this can also work as a non-provisional cast on (say you want a cast on to perfectly match a bound off edge). Just start from the beginning with your working yarn.