LK Knits

Double points if you can identify the quote ...

I like lace, but my lace background is slim. I have lacy patterns, like the now-completed Ariann (with pics soon to follow), but have never really made anything lace except for a simple sk2p Lily Chin shawl. But I picked up a copy of Victorian Lace Today (honestly, largely for the lovely British Country Manor photographs!), and I'd very much like to do some of the patterns in the book. This means tackling edging, provisional cast ons, and other new ways of thinking about construction and geometry that will stretch me beyond being my usual texture knitter.

So I was quite happy to have Lydia at Dropped a Stitch remind me of the Branching Out scarf pattern from Knitty. I've done four pattern repeats thus far, with double-stranded Kidsilk Haze (in Lynne Blue) and size Addi Turbo 8 needles, and it's going OK. I am excited to see how it turns out!

I'd be even more excited to work on this if my needles were pointier, because doing some of those s2-k1-p2sso parts are really tricky. So I was quite interested in Grumperina's recent post about her desire for pointy lace needles, and Skacel's satisfaction of that desire with their new Addi Lace circulars.

I'm not sure I'll become enough of a lace knitter to splurge on lace-specific needles, but it's great to know they exist!

I finished Ariann over President's Day weekend:

I love how it looks, I love the shaping, I love the yarn. I love that I taught myself how to crochet a chain for the belt! Baby steps on the crochet front ...

It's honestly not as flattering a fit on me as I would like, although I think it's flattering enough, and it's certainly comfortable:

If I did it over I would make the armholes one inch shallower. Although I have a long back-waist length for someone who's 5'3", I am short from chest to shoulder. Shirts routinely fit better if I have an inch removed; I only ever bother to do it with strappy dresses. But that's the big lesson I am taking from this pattern: pay attention to armhole length, and consider shortening it.

But I love it!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've started on the Branching Out scarf pattern from Knitty.

I like it. It's about double that length by now, but I've put it aside because I'm finding that I have to pay more attention to the pattern than I had originally thought I would. So it's not great TV knitting or multi-tasking knitting, and it's also not the diversion from my main detail project that I had hoped. So I'll come back to it in a month or so, after I've finished that project. I don't have any pictures of it, so I will keep quiet for now ...

On a recent transatlantic plane flight I made substantial progress on the Branching Out lace scarf:

Interestingly, I find that it's easier for me to knit this pattern from instructions instead of from a chart; usually I'm a visual person, but for some reason the chart slows me down. I wonder if it'll be that way for me for lace in general.

The yarn, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, is of course a joy to work. In fact, when I was in London I almost bought more to make more scarves like this one and Ene's shawl from Shawl Style, because Liberty had the yarn in more colors than I've ever seen before. But the exchange rate is so appalling that I couldn't justify it.

I'm still working on the Branching Out scarf, but I'm close to finished:

I love the color.

Just at the beginning of my CeCe cardigan, which will be 3/4-sleeves, in Rowan DK Soft:

More comments on this project as it develops.

I don't know who started it, but within the past five days five different people in my Ravelry friend list have queued the Flint Knits February Lady Sweater. My goodness, this sweater is just spectacular! Based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's February baby sweater, this lace cardigan is the same adorable sweater in adult size. And in Sundara worsted merino in green, it's just fabulous.

I love how quickly this pattern spread (thanks to blogs and Ravelry). Pam only posted it on 6 June, and it spread like wildfire. I think I saw one person with it in my friend list, then I queued it, and then I saw four others in my friend list queue it. 88 people have already started it, and over 2,000 folks have queued it.

Very cool!

But I have to finish a couple of other WIPs first ... and then remake my Coachella, which I did not make with negative ease, to my great detriment.

So ... I got sucked in to the frenzy over this pattern that I discussed back in June, when the February Lady Sweater pattern was posted at Flint Knits. My frogged Coachella's gonna hafta wait ...

The pictures don't do the yarn or the pattern justice. The yarn is Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Flammé, a wool-alpaca-silk blend that has a little bit of a thick-and-thin thing going on. I think it will show well in both the garter stitch and the lace.

I've just started the lace portion, and am about to split off the sleeve stitches. Now, to pick out buttons ...

Jiminy, I am sure loving working on this one!

It's coming along; the gull lace pattern is easy to remember but engaging enough to keep my attention. I haven't decided how many repeats to do before doing the garter stitch edge, though ... and I haven't given a single thought to the sleeves yet!

I started Nikol Lohr's Woodland Shawl on the plane on the way home from England last week:

I'm using Malabrigo Lace, in Azul Profundo, and it's gorgeous. The pattern is easy to remember, which I appreciate, because I am not enough of a lace aficionado to be interested in a deeply intricate pattern. I think this pattern will show the beautiful yarn off to perfection!