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Knitting Friday: On Shawls
No pictures again today (Sorry!) but rather a discussion of shawls. Every once and a while Ravelry has a question on: Do you wear shawls? or Am I too young to wear shawls? I read the answers but don't post. Probably because, except for 2 winter shawls and my summer shawls, I wear all my shawls as big scarfs. In fact, now that I'm getting compliments on my work (Some of it done a few years ago but now blocked. Oh, does blocking make a difference!), no one has ever said: Oh, what a lovely shawl. Everyone thinks they're big scarfs.
I think I mentioned this before but I really would not be comfortable wearing a gorgeous Estonian lace shawl or any of that type. To me, I would feel like I'm looking for compliments: See! Look at my handiwork! But I know this is just I, because gorgeous lace patterns are given free (and I so admire the generosity of these designers) or up for purchase all over the web.
And speaking about patterns; mine are almost always my same 4 row simple lace:
CO a multiple of 2 sts + 2 K sts ES for edging.
Row 1 RS: K
Row 2: K2 *P* K2
Row 3: K2, *YO, K2tog* K2
Row 4: K2 *YO, P2tog* K2
That's it; except, of course, I knit on the diagonal so always staying in pattern, I start with 2 sts and increasing Kfb each side to my width. At width, I Kfb one side and K2tog on the other. At length, I K2tog on each side. What a boring pattern! I can hear your yawns as I type. Oh, she is so unoriginal, you're saying. I get it. However, I would like to have a hundred dollars for each shawl pattern I have printed off the web. I must have a thousand. However, except for two mystery lace shawls (which are wrapped in white linen cloth so you can imagine how much wear they get), I always come back to my ho-hum 4-row lace.
I know that the major reason is that I want a carry-along project and I am just not capable of carrying along complicated lace. Second, I want a diagonal knit project. I know this is not good for yarn conservation since with a straight knit project you can eyeball it and say: I have enough (or not enough) for one more row. While with a diagonal knit, it's very difficult to predict when to stop for the length and being the "filling in" of the rectangle. Best case scenario: you have enough or too much yarn left; worst case: you'll tinking way back to shorten the length. However, the stretch of this bias knitting makes all this worthwhile for me.
Time is also a problem. I would say that I have enough time to knit but obviously, based on projects on Ravelry, time must stretch for other knitters. They can start a big project and finish in a few days. I think I'm doing good with my cut-off of two weeks (Done or almost done by then, or frogged.) With my lace pattern above, I finish fast.
There are lace patterns I do like. For example, the Appalachian Shawl:
http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/pdf/AlpacaSoxAppalachianShawl.pdf
It's got a feather and fan pattern and a star cluster pattern (which adds to the amount of yarn needed) mixed in a shawl that is CO for length and knitted to width. I think I might make it in one color with thin yarn and larger needles. Both the patterns are easy to remember so this would be a carry-along.
The second pattern is Sun (superscript 2):
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sun2
Which is only available through Ravelry so it's another reason for joining. The shawl bills itself as summer wear and it works up looking a lot like roping - very light and open. But a warning: while the pattern row gets easy to remember (there is a counter-intuitive step) it is a bear to unravel. You can't slip stitches over others and off the needle without getting an almost "permanent" design.
And a final tip: the Horai Scarf (no longer free from Ravelry) which is a basic K3tog, YO, K same 3 sts tog again pattern versus the Trinity Stitch which is P3tog, Kfbf. After knitting swatches of both, I wound up with about 9 inches more yarn needed for the Trinity Stitch. So does Trinity take more yarn? Probably not since it stretches much more than the Horai so you could probably cast on fewer stitches with the Trinity and knit fewer rows.
That's it for this week. OTN: A sample shawl with zillions of yarn pieces spliced or Russian joined together for a mini lesson I'm teaching on how to get rid of pesky yarn ends. The pattern? Yes, my Old Faithful lace one. Pictures next week.
I think I mentioned this before but I really would not be comfortable wearing a gorgeous Estonian lace shawl or any of that type. To me, I would feel like I'm looking for compliments: See! Look at my handiwork! But I know this is just I, because gorgeous lace patterns are given free (and I so admire the generosity of these designers) or up for purchase all over the web.
And speaking about patterns; mine are almost always my same 4 row simple lace:
CO a multiple of 2 sts + 2 K sts ES for edging.
Row 1 RS: K
Row 2: K2 *P* K2
Row 3: K2, *YO, K2tog* K2
Row 4: K2 *YO, P2tog* K2
That's it; except, of course, I knit on the diagonal so always staying in pattern, I start with 2 sts and increasing Kfb each side to my width. At width, I Kfb one side and K2tog on the other. At length, I K2tog on each side. What a boring pattern! I can hear your yawns as I type. Oh, she is so unoriginal, you're saying. I get it. However, I would like to have a hundred dollars for each shawl pattern I have printed off the web. I must have a thousand. However, except for two mystery lace shawls (which are wrapped in white linen cloth so you can imagine how much wear they get), I always come back to my ho-hum 4-row lace.
I know that the major reason is that I want a carry-along project and I am just not capable of carrying along complicated lace. Second, I want a diagonal knit project. I know this is not good for yarn conservation since with a straight knit project you can eyeball it and say: I have enough (or not enough) for one more row. While with a diagonal knit, it's very difficult to predict when to stop for the length and being the "filling in" of the rectangle. Best case scenario: you have enough or too much yarn left; worst case: you'll tinking way back to shorten the length. However, the stretch of this bias knitting makes all this worthwhile for me.
Time is also a problem. I would say that I have enough time to knit but obviously, based on projects on Ravelry, time must stretch for other knitters. They can start a big project and finish in a few days. I think I'm doing good with my cut-off of two weeks (Done or almost done by then, or frogged.) With my lace pattern above, I finish fast.
There are lace patterns I do like. For example, the Appalachian Shawl:
http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/pdf/AlpacaSoxAppalachianShawl.pdf
It's got a feather and fan pattern and a star cluster pattern (which adds to the amount of yarn needed) mixed in a shawl that is CO for length and knitted to width. I think I might make it in one color with thin yarn and larger needles. Both the patterns are easy to remember so this would be a carry-along.
The second pattern is Sun (superscript 2):
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sun2
Which is only available through Ravelry so it's another reason for joining. The shawl bills itself as summer wear and it works up looking a lot like roping - very light and open. But a warning: while the pattern row gets easy to remember (there is a counter-intuitive step) it is a bear to unravel. You can't slip stitches over others and off the needle without getting an almost "permanent" design.
And a final tip: the Horai Scarf (no longer free from Ravelry) which is a basic K3tog, YO, K same 3 sts tog again pattern versus the Trinity Stitch which is P3tog, Kfbf. After knitting swatches of both, I wound up with about 9 inches more yarn needed for the Trinity Stitch. So does Trinity take more yarn? Probably not since it stretches much more than the Horai so you could probably cast on fewer stitches with the Trinity and knit fewer rows.
That's it for this week. OTN: A sample shawl with zillions of yarn pieces spliced or Russian joined together for a mini lesson I'm teaching on how to get rid of pesky yarn ends. The pattern? Yes, my Old Faithful lace one. Pictures next week.
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