Fine Lace

My very first fine lace project was exciting and frustrating all at the same time.  

I love bulky knits and many of my projects include using 2 strands of yarn together to bulk them up even more.  But I also love, admire and drool over fine lace.

I have just started knitting lace with fingering weight yarn for a little over a year, so I just became comfortable working with fingering weight yarn.  So naturally the next step is to work with an even finer yarn. I kept eyeing the cobweb yarn at my local yarn shop, but something in the back of my mind kept telling my I wasn't quite ready for that yet. 

After my dear friend April gave me a ball of Yarn Place Gentle in an absolutely gorgous cranberry red, I couldn't stop thinking about what I would knit with this wonderful yarn.  I finally decided to try a wrap pattern in Victorian Lace Today, which would also by my very first project with knitting on the edge. 

I faced my inner fears and cast on the center panel that seemed to go rather smoothly. Although, I did need to pay very close attention to ensure I grabbed the actual stitch on the needle rather than the loop below. (I later realized that the wooden needles were just too blunt to grab that tiny stitch and I have since moved on to super pointy Addi Turbo Lace needles)

My problems really came in to play when I started knitting the edging. I ended up modifying the edging pattern after several (about 50) false starts. I even heard myself say that I would never do this again during certain trying moments, but I was determined to master the process.

I did complete my project and love, love, love the lighter than air feel of this shawl. There is a couple battle scars along the edge but I do feel quite accomplished that I got it done.

And even though I had stated several times that I wouldn't ever do this again, I have already cast on my next wrap in a lovely green wool/silk.  This one is in lace weight yarn, which believe it or not feels like bulky after working with the cobweb weight.

I will definately do another in cobweb as the end result is so stunning.

Sunday Morning Knit Wit ~ Burgandy Lace Wrap

I've spent the past two months knitting and ripping out lace shawls. Mostly ripping if truth be told. In fact,  I have another triangle shawl that I put aside because I need to rip back 8 rows and I just don't want to look at it for awhile.  But, even though these patterns are challenging me mathmatically, I really like the look of lace.

So I decided to try doing a simple rectangle wrap design with the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) mentality. With the rectangle wraps, there are no changes in the number of stitches each row and it is easy to keep track of.  The result is this ZigZag Lacy Wrap.

What makes this simple design special is the yarn that I used to knit it ~  my own handspun alpaca, merino, silk blend in a gorgeous burgandy with subtle shade changes.  This wrap is soft, flowing and drapes beautifully. 

This photo shows the gradiant changes in shades:





The yarn is in between fingering and sport weight and I used 10.5 US needles to make the zigzags pop. 

I think it is perfect for cool summer evenings as a wrap to keep the chill off.  Or it can be worn as a scarf in the fall too ~ 

I really had fun making this easy lace and knitting with some of my handspun. Sometimes doing something simple will help build confidence for the more complex designs!

Now, off to rip and finish my triangle shawl that awaits me ~~

Keep you needles clicking!