The progress so far. Not a lot I hear you say, but believe me I'm proud of this, these take ages!! I know the pics aren't great, but it's nearly 10pm and really dark, so take what you're given, ok?
I do love the pattern, but I'm not sure the yarn is right. It seems a bit light and doesn't really show the pattern to it's best.
Remember I said I had lace woes? I yearn to make lace, I think it's so beautiful that I'd love to create my own. When I was in Florida last year I bought a load of lace yarn. One in particular was Prism Lace (Ravelry link), hand dyed in St Petersburg. I was watching Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop on DVD the other day and saw the Pi shawl. After many gasps of breath and admiration of its beauty I thought, wouldn't that make a beautiful tablecloth?
So, I decided to cast on using the Prism lace. She talks about Barbara Okher's (unsure of spelling) cast on as being the best one. I swear I tried for an hour and couldn't get it right until I lost my temper with it and decided for the betterment of my sanity and the yarn to put it away and try again later.
This is my second attempt at lace, the first being with some yummy misti alpaca laceweight to make a swallowtail shawl. That too ended in flames and much swearing.
Am I missing some basic element of lace knitting? Other than requiring solitude in a quiet room, coz with a 7 year old that's just not going to happen. Maybe I'm pushing my knitting too fast, after all I'm just 18mths knitting. Walk before you can run, right?
I've also begun thinking about Christmas knitting. I hate that C word, it conjures up such images of panic, overspending and stress for me. Anyway, I'd love to give handmade gifts, I'm just not sure how they'd be received. I was thinking maybe a pair of socks for my dear Dad and a Branching Out scarf for one of my sister in laws. Others, I don't know.
The idea of a washcloth with some nice soaps appeals to me, but the washcloths I have made previously were rubbish for lathering. Maybe I used the wrong yarn? It was 100% cotton, so what should I be using?
3 comments:
Lace knitting takes a bit of a leap of faith. Each row, taken on its own, doesn't make much sense but the next row, then the next row, then the next all help the pattern emerge. That's what makes it addictive.
If you want to knit for Christmas you'd be well advised to start now. There's nothing worse than knitting under pressure - I'm still recovering from the Ravelympics. Which reminds me - where did you get those medal buttons and how do I get mine?
Knitting lace is wonderful, but it DOES require a bit of concentration. It's all a matter of reading your charts correctly and making sure each row ends the way it's supposed to! :) Maybe it's the laceweight that's throwing you off. Perhaps you could start out with something in a worsted weight, like Brooklyn Tweed's Hemlock throw? That way you'd get some practice as far as the lace technique goes, but you'd still be able to, you know, see your stitches!
Have you seen this five piece bath set pattern (http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lffunt/bathset.htm)? If you crochet at all, the bath puff is really great.
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