Blindness brings on the most interesting problems. They’re never the sorts of things sighted people think: I can get dressed, clean my house, go to work, and eat just fine, and I deal with other people’s lack of imagination as routinely though rarely as successfully. The problems tend to be in the little things, in the details, where the devil lies, as some would have it. Row counting is a prime example.
I can knit complex lace work while listening to a literary novel I plan to teach or discuss with one of my English teacher friends, but keeping track of which row I’m on, aside from simply observing the pattern, is not so easy. Commercial row counters don’t really work because they have either no tactile markings or tactile markings that are so small they’re hard to distinguish even with super blind fingers. So for ideas, I turned to my yarn council.
The Blind Stitchers Google group is fantastic. I learn a lot from the other yarn crafters on the list. Tips range from the practical to the truly inspired. Here’s a list of row counter substitutes they came up with during several discussions on the subject.
• Add coins or can tabs to a container or baggy.
• Count out X number of pieces of candy and eat one after every row.
• Make little tears along the edge of an index card.
• Move pegs on a cribbage board or Scrabble tray.
• Place one safety pin in hem of shirt or arm of couch for every row.
• Place strings or safety pins in work to mark repeats or X number of rows.
• Slide (Braille) Tags or can tabs on a ring.
• Slide Beads on a string or bracelet.
• Use Brynolf Pocket Counter (discontinued).
• Use abacus.
• Use cell phone app.
• Use PDA (write down the row you are on, deleting and changing the number with each row).
• Use Scorekeeper from American Printing House for the Blind.
Working out Kinks and Fingering Yarn 