Knitting Lace

This has been an adventure in frustration and internet research.  I have, quite literally, pulled this thing apart 5 times.  First the rounds weren't lining up properly, then the stitch count was off.  So, after vowing that I was not going to be defeated by this #$&* pattern, I went back to square one. 

Here was the first problem.  The pattern grid had these spaces labeled "no stitch".  What the blazes did that mean?  Well, after looking it up on the internet (thank you Gia for knittinghelp.com) I found out that it means just that, No Stitch.  You ignore it, you do nothing, don't even count it.  Problem one solved.

Second problem was that, well, I was reading the pattern grid like you read anything.  Top to bottom and left to right.  Nah uh.  You are supposed to read them from the bottom right hand corner for the first row and then from right to left for the second row and so on.  That explains why the pattern wasn't lining up.

Good, so now I know how to read the pattern and the counts are coming out right.  HA!  I told you it wouldn't defeat me.

This is what it looks like in the magazine

Here is what the first repeat looks like on my needle.  There are 7 repeats of 20 rounds and then a border that is added to the bottom.

Stay tuned to see what happens next.

Knitting lace

I just subscribed to the magazine Piecework.  What a wonderful magazine.  The first two issues had absolutely wonderful patterns.  The first issue was about crafts in literature, like Miss Marple knitting and the March girls knitting socks and Jane Eyre netting purses.  It had patterns for these types of crafts.  In this issue they have a wonderful writeup about knitting and crocheting lace and a great abbreviated history of silk thread.

I decided, as all my Christmas presents are done (YAY), I would try knitting the Holly Berry Cowl.  It is a very lacy piece done in lace or fingering weight yarn.  I've never knit anything like this before.  It's lacy and delicate and the pattern is done in diagram instead of being written out.  This will be an amazing learning experience.  I'm using a fingering weight soft baby blue yarn and size 8 16" circular needles.  The pattern states size 4 24" needles, but when I made the gauge swatch with size 4 it came out 1/2 of the required size.  I think I may be using a thinner yarn than they used (theirs was a wool lace weight).  This is why I always make a gauge swatch, although I don't save them, I pull them out.

Christmas Present Making

 As promised, here are the rest of the pictures of my Christmas Present list.  I'm only missing pictures of 2 hat and mitten sets.

These mittens are a delicious wool with a fabulous soft hand.

Suede yarn and a flower of acrylic stash yarn.

These are made with a soft fuzzy acrylic.

This picture came out too blue.  The picture below is the true color.

I love this edge on the scarf.  This is a wool/acrylic blend.  I made matching mittens.

This color didn't photograph well.  It is much more blue.  They are pop top mittens.

The BR 2 means something to the person I made them for. 

This is a large shawl with a basket weave pattern.  It's made with a bulky weight yarn.

Just a standard 2 x 2 rib scarf in a very bulky yarn.  I learned how to do a long tail and a reverse long tail cast on while doing this one.

Christmas Present Making

So, I'm on my last gift.  I'm making a pair of mittens for a very dear friend of mine in a yummy raspberry wool.  It has this incredible soft hand.  I love it.

Here are a few of the things I have made.  I will post more pictures as I get this stuff wrapped.  So far the count is 4 purses, 1 scarf, 1 scarf and mitten set, 1 shawl, 1 pair of convertible mittens, 5 pair mitten and hat sets, 1 pair two tone mittens and this last pair will be 15 total.  Yikes...I've been a very busy girl :).

Hat and mitten set and a Messenger bag made out of suede yarn

Purple and white bag of acrylic yarn and pink suede bag

Ruffled hat and mitten set made with worsted weight cotton yarn

Christmas Present Making

I have a total of 14 Christmas gifts to make each year.  This is for various nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, friends, etc.  I usually start in August!

This year I have made a variety of hat and mitten sets (usually for the younger ones), 4 bags for the older girls, scarfs and a shawl.  I can't post pictures yet because some of the friends that I make presents for may look in here.

Late last year I bought 6 skeins of suede yarn on sale at $1.00 a piece.  I didn't know what I would do with it, but I knew I would find something.  This is what I have used to make the bags for the girls.  A little flower embellishment and they came out really cute.

I have the shawl to finish and a scarf to make and I'm all done.  I may have an additional couple of pairs of mittens to make, but I have time.  Oh, I forgot about the 2 Christmas Stockings I have to sew.  Yikes.

So how are your Christmas projects coming?

Knitting

So the second sock is done and I'm very happy with the set.  Next time I will make the leg a little longer, about 1.5 to 2 inches and taper the top a bit.  Ah live and learn.

Speaking of learning, most of my Christmas presents are handmade.  It is just too expensive otherwise, I have a huge amount of nieces and nephews.  Plus the few friends I make gifts for seem to appreciate them.  In making a scarf for one of my friends I learned a great cast on technique when making ribbing.  It is the long tail and reverse long tail method.  It actually makes your first row for you.

Thanks to knittinghelp.com and knitdaily.com for the videos and emails that helped me learn them.  I love learning new ways to make things look nice.

Knitting Socks - the second sock

I found a much easier way to do short row heels.  Thank you Gia for suggesting the website knitting help.  It was invaluable.  It also gave me a few pointers about how to do the Turkish toes.

As anyone who has ever had to pull out rows, it is always hard to pick the stitches back up again.  When you have to do it for over 12 rounds and the yarn is superfine fingering weight and the needles are size 3...argh.  It is my own fault for not paying attention to my count.

Onward and upward.