I started on Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style this week. I took my yarn and needles to work and opened up the book at lunchtime. My coworker sitting across from me noted how the chart viewed from upside down looked, maybe, like the Stealth Bomber and why would I want to knit that? I assured him that the chart made as much sense to me as it did to him and I would just have to see how it transformed from a spikey, pointed set of boxes into the gorgeous scarf in the picture. He said in that case, that maybe the book was fooling me and I would end up with a stuffed Alligator instead of Leaves.

I want to show the chart for those who do not have the book. To avoid infringement, here is a pic without the copyrighted hieroglyphs:

As daunting as this charted pattern seemed at first, I really like it. It’s very complex, but since it’s all pictured for me, I don’t have to think much at all. I just knit what’s on the chart. I checked the Internet for any corrections to the pattern and didn’t find any; so I just knit what it says to knit with complete faith.

I’m using the same yarn called for in the pattern (Aurora 8 by Karabella) only in a nice royal blue instead of green. Although I didn’t swatch, I stuck with the suggested size 7 needles. The first pattern repeat is complete and looks like this:

See? It doesn’t look like much. However, after reading Yarn Harlot, I have complete confidence that the lace pattern is supposed to look bad while you knit it and then later, after all is knitted and the thing is blocked, well that’s when the magic is supposed to happen.