I started to knit lace again. Well, I guess I should put in a disclaimer at the very beginning: I don’t consider this really lace only YOs, SSKs, K2togs, and DDs since my yarn is dishcloth quality cotton. I think you need to work in a more luxurious yarn before you start calling it lace knitting.
And now having said that: a word about the yarn. As you know I’m a sucker for a coupon and it’s a perfect marriage for me when A.C. Moore has their bags of “undetermined” fiber yarn and I have a coupon. Now, I don't buy the undetermined fiber yarn since it seems to always be shiny acrylic but once and a while they have bags of 100% cotton yarn and then I pounce. That’s how I have way too much cotton dishcloth quality yarn but in some pretty attractive colors.
So when I decided to do some lace knitting again , the variegated yarn pictured very badly below got pulled out for my swatch knitting.
And now a word about my brand of swatch knitting. I don’t swatch for gauge - oh, has that led to numerous expletive explosions - but I do swatch for patterns. So usually a new and tricky pattern gets knitted up in mediocre yarn before a tackle my “good” stuff.
And therein lies my current problem: this dishcloth grade variegated cotton looks damn good.i n real life, not the below picture, and I can’t imagine stopping now.
The pattern is called Alix’s Lace Prayer Shawl, it’s a top to bottom knit. Here's the website:
http://www.debbiemacomber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=nnp&pageID=195
Here’s only the chart only website:
http://www.debbiemacomber.com/var/www/debbiemacomber.com/htdocs/graphics/Image/pattern_prayershawl_chart_lg.jpg
Even if you don’t like to knit from charts I’d recommend you use this one. It’s very simple and the written instructions look complicated. But be sure to read the non-chart website first since you only get one-half the chart and it’s without the border stitches. I’m not using a lifeline because my yarn is quite “sticky” and stitches don’t ladder down. However, I’d recommend them. If you belong to Ravelry check out the Alix shawl site there since you’ll get a lot of useful information.
One major reasons this is such an easy shawl is the number and placement of the yarn overs. In complicated lace patterns I find it necessary to “re-read” each row to make sure I have the correct number of stitches. This means not just counting the stitches (and this is a bear also) because you can have the correct number but not the correct number of yarn overs. but reading each stitch across. In Alix, the yarn overs appear in the same places in each lace row so as you finish each section you can see that it’s correct. Saves on a lot of frogging.
OK, that’s going to be it for Knitting Friday. They say that lace knitting is addictive and they’re right. I really do have to get back to it.
Happy knitting.
And now having said that: a word about the yarn. As you know I’m a sucker for a coupon and it’s a perfect marriage for me when A.C. Moore has their bags of “undetermined” fiber yarn and I have a coupon. Now, I don't buy the undetermined fiber yarn since it seems to always be shiny acrylic but once and a while they have bags of 100% cotton yarn and then I pounce. That’s how I have way too much cotton dishcloth quality yarn but in some pretty attractive colors.
So when I decided to do some lace knitting again , the variegated yarn pictured very badly below got pulled out for my swatch knitting.
And now a word about my brand of swatch knitting. I don’t swatch for gauge - oh, has that led to numerous expletive explosions - but I do swatch for patterns. So usually a new and tricky pattern gets knitted up in mediocre yarn before a tackle my “good” stuff.
And therein lies my current problem: this dishcloth grade variegated cotton looks damn good.i n real life, not the below picture, and I can’t imagine stopping now.
The pattern is called Alix’s Lace Prayer Shawl, it’s a top to bottom knit. Here's the website:
http://www.debbiemacomber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=nnp&pageID=195
Here’s only the chart only website:
http://www.debbiemacomber.com/var/www/debbiemacomber.com/htdocs/graphics/Image/pattern_prayershawl_chart_lg.jpg
Even if you don’t like to knit from charts I’d recommend you use this one. It’s very simple and the written instructions look complicated. But be sure to read the non-chart website first since you only get one-half the chart and it’s without the border stitches. I’m not using a lifeline because my yarn is quite “sticky” and stitches don’t ladder down. However, I’d recommend them. If you belong to Ravelry check out the Alix shawl site there since you’ll get a lot of useful information.
One major reasons this is such an easy shawl is the number and placement of the yarn overs. In complicated lace patterns I find it necessary to “re-read” each row to make sure I have the correct number of stitches. This means not just counting the stitches (and this is a bear also) because you can have the correct number but not the correct number of yarn overs. but reading each stitch across. In Alix, the yarn overs appear in the same places in each lace row so as you finish each section you can see that it’s correct. Saves on a lot of frogging.
OK, that’s going to be it for Knitting Friday. They say that lace knitting is addictive and they’re right. I really do have to get back to it.
Happy knitting.
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