knitting lace – Page 2

Finished Object – Water Shawl

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Laura Kate

Today is the last day of March. I told myself that I would have this KAL done by today. Despite the difficulties of working on the road, the obstacle of my computer WIFI failure and the minefield of working on Someone Else’s Computer, I am ready. Here you see the blocked shawl hung up against a striped curtain.

My daughter agreed to model for me.

The temperatures here in Wisconsin dipped down into the upper 20th last night. At the time of the photo session, it was still only about 45 F. She professed that the shawl is quite warm.

I’m pretty happy with it. I did run out of the dark yarn and had to improvise a bit at lower edge, just above the lacey bind off. I have plenty of pink left. So I can’t call this a stash buster. But it is a unique and graceful design. I recommend this pattern for intermediate knitters.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Ravelry: Water pattern by Sylvia McFadden

knitting

Cast on Monday – Knit Along

Posted on March 8, 2021March 8, 2021 by Laura Kate

It’s time for another cast on. This time I am working a group knit along project organized for the Blogville Knitters group on Ravelry. Alissa has chosen this shawl by Sylvia McFadden.

Ravelry: Water pattern by Sylvia McFadden

While the designer was going for a watery look, with insets of lovely lace, I have chosen two yarns that give more of a chocolate cake with pink icing sort of feel.

For my main color, I have Wisco sock yarn in colorway Dark Plum by Ewetopia. The contrast color is an alpaca rayon blend by Berroco called Folio in colorway Cardinal.

Here you see the first swirling lace inset. Doesn’t it remind you of waves? There will be six sections like this in between the garter ridges. So far I find that the stitches required to make these waves are a little tricky, and need to be worked at a much slower pace.

The plan is to finish by the end of ~~June~~ March? It’s doable.

knitting

Swatch-on Monday

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Laura Kate

Members of the Blogville Knitters will recognize the pattern for Water. This pattern, offered by softsweaterknits.com, was selected by Alissa for our group knit-a-long happening in March. I agree with her – it is a beautiful shawl. It features some unique design aspects and challenging sections based on short rows.

So I am game to try.

The lace sections look just like waves of the ocean. But I didn’t choose a water color. I wanted to try something warmer. My Water shawl will look more like a lava flow.

I chose Wisco Sock, from Ewetopia, in colorway Dark Plum for the garter row sections. It didn’t photograph too well in the first picture. So here are my swatches, with a little digital adjustment.

The pink yarn I found at Harps and Thistle yarn store in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. While looking for a silk blend I picked up this Folio yarn by Berroco. It is not silk, but a blend of 60% superfine alpaca and 35% rayon. Never having knit with rayon yarn, I was a little skeptical about the resulting fabric. But store owner Cindy had used this yarn and experienced no issues such as pilling. The colorway is Cardinal, but it certainly doesn’t resemble any cardinal I have ever seen. Maybe it is more the shade of the Roman Catholic cardinals’ robes. Anyway, it is a color I currently do not have in a shawl.

So I am set with pattern, yarn and swatches. If I can trust the two that I worked up on no. 5 needles, both yarns give me the same gauge, in this case, 22 sts. per 4 inch row as called for by the pattern.

If you would like to knit along with us, you can find Water at:

Ravelry: Water pattern by Sylvia McFadden

knitting

Finished Object Friday – Knitting

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Laura Kate

Gentle Curves shawl is off the needles. Here is my autobiographical photograph of it.

This was a quick and easy knit. To make it more decorative, I added stripes of lacy eyelet stitches spaced up gradually over the body of the shawl.

I still haven’t formed an opinion about whether I like the slanting line that forms a twisted spine on the shawl. It looks better when the shawl is wrapped well around, with the ends hanging down in front.

Yarn fibers include alpaca, wool and silk. The pattern Gentle Curves can be found on Ravelry here:

Ravelry: Gentle Slopes pattern by Quinn Reverendo

knitting

Cast on Monday – Last week of the month

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Laura Kate

Having finished a pair of socks, I am beginning another knitted accessory – a cowl. I have been wanting to make one for myself in this teal color.

The yarn is a mysterious orphan ball given to me by my friend Kathy, who is in the middle of a stash-clearing phase. There’s no label, so I am guessing about the fiber. It is very soft, with a prominent halo, suggestive of alpaca. If you look closely, you will detect a bit of gold glimmer. The total weight is 80 grams, and based on its thickness I am guessing there are about 250 yards of yarn here.

I started off making this lovely cable and lace pattern, from my book “60 Quick Luxury Knits.” But the yarn revealed a structure that did not sit well with complex stitchery – it has a thick and thin composition and a loose twist which suggests to me that it might be hand spun. I started over. After six rows of garter I worked a combination of yarn overs and knit togethers to create the undulation you see.

What I do next is still unclear. The only thing I know is that it must narrow as it rises.