Since Heather had problems logging into her Blogger account, she would like me to thank everyone who shared their experiences with her.
My reponse to Janina's question: I didn't do the rectangles on dpns ... I just put each set onto one dpn for the sake of taking the photo. I actually put ALL the idle stitches onto one stitch holder (made from a dpn) and then do the knitting on circulars. I know some people just used one circulars for holding the idle stitches as well as knitting at the same time. :)
Okay, we got loads of updates from you ladies this past week. But before reporting on that, I'd like to recruit some help for our newest member, Heather, "Do you think that casting on using a size bigger needle gives a loose enough cast on for this shawl? I haven't done lace before, so I started knitty's "Branching Out" and after 6 tries to cast on loosely, I gave up and used a size 8 needle to cast on and am knitting with a size 7. It seems that edge is plenty loose, but not sure about the FPS." Any thoughts to share?
Beth has just finished a gorgeous weaving project, which you should all go and check it out, and she is working on the border of the stole.
Anita did a Lily of the Valley swatch with her alpaca silk blend from Webs:
Anne M just told me this morning that she decided to use Zephyr in creamy white, though she was strongly tempted to get the lettuce Suri Alpaca. She is now in the middle of the triangle rows and can't wait to get into the actual lace patterns (who isn't?).
Dawn felt the lighter lace yarn (2300yds per 150g) was a bit scary but I think she has been doing very well. She got past the triangles and did the first rectangle here:
Dorothy experienced the "got it" moment and is heading towards the end of the first tier:
Janina finally decided on using Zephyr in vanilla instead of the Artisan Lace, which she would save for the Swallowtail Shawl from the Interweave Knits of Fall 2006. She is awaiting the yarn and some Bryspun circulars to arrive.
And now, you should all hop over to Janine's and admire her latest FO, the sexy shrug ... which I have been drooling over since I saw hers. She is going to use a luxurious merino/cashmere/viscose blend in a cool silver grey colour. I can't wait to see Janine knitting up this lovely yarn.
Heather is very excited about starting the project and she is going to use KnitPicks Shimmer in Maple Leaf colourway.
For me, I spent four days working solely on the stole ... with the most knitting done during the weekend. I am now done with the second tier:
Nice work from everyone! And I can't wait to read Debi's updates on the other half of the group. For those of you who can't start right now, don't worry or feel bad ... there is no need to! It's a long time project and there is always time to catch up.
5 comments:
In response to Heather's question - I tried casting on with needles a size larger but thought the cast-on looked a bit too loose once I'd done a few rows of seed stitch. So I frogged it and cast on with the needle size I intend to use for the rest of the stole, then put a lifeline through the cast-on stitches. This way, if I find it's not loose enough further down the track, I can unpick my cast on and adjust accordingly. Hope that helps!
A question, Agnes. I see that you are working the lace panels on dpns, as per the pattern. How are you finding this? It seems to me there would be an awful lot of flopping around. Did you try them all on a circular?
And for Heather-- I find that if I space out the cast on stitches as I make them it helps. I leave a few mm of thread inbetween each stitch. This is a tedious way to cast-on, but it does give me the most spreadabilty later.
And for anyone who is hating the seed stitch, try giving the Norwegian Purl a try. It makes things like ribbing and seed stitch much more bearable for me, with the bonus of the fabric being a bit more flexible than doing it the regular way. Interweave Knits has the best directions on their website. The pictures are terrible, but the written directions are very good and easy to follow.
Janina in Canada. ( Still waiting on the Zephyr, but having a good introduction to laceweight with the Swallowtail Shawl. )
Heather - I did the knitted cast on, as instructed, but very loosely. My cast on edge is very frilly and loose, but I'm anticipating that blocking will resolve the problem, soI'm not too worried about it. The knitted cast on is usually a lot more elastic than long tail cast on.
I'm very impressed by everyone's progress, can't wait to do some more knitting on this over the weekend.
dawn
I hate seed stitch and am having a reall hard time with the side triangles. I'm glad I decided not the do the seed stitch border. I'm also keeping all the stitches on one circular.
Agnes, the black looks great!
It's great to see everyone's yarn and colour choices and your progress.
Colette in Montreal.
Heather
I am using a size 3 needle for my stole with zephyr yarn but I did cast on with a size 4. I use the crochet cast on, which for me is more elastic than the other. I use it on socks as well as sweaters and like the cast off looking edge to it. When I'm done, both ends will match.
gail
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