WOW, lot's of news this week!!

Laura's got a great beginning. See?

She's decided she wants to do only two lace patterns on her stole but can't decide which two! Any suggestions for Laura?

Leslie is still busy practicing her lace units but she has begun her border.....use that new camera and show us some pics Leslie!! Leslie was also kind enough to let everyone know that The Alpaca Yarn Company now has an errata page for the FPS and will send out the corrections to anyone who's purchased the pattern! Thanks for letting us know Leslie!

After a pretty difficult beginning, Melanie has made some decent progress!

She admits she's been distracted by some other knitting projects but now she's a knitter with a *plan* so we should all see lots more FPS from Melanie!

Nancy has finally cast on too! Look at her lovely blue alpaca...

This is Nancy's travel and summer project (brave girl!) so she should have lots more to show us soon! And if you want to see some brilliant color and beautiful pics go have a gander at her lovely garden and her stunning quilt!

Talk about a close call! Opal accidently pulled a DPN out of one of her Lily of the Valley lace units!!

Luckily, she was able to jump in and rescue the escaping stitches before disaster struck! Be careful Opal, that stole is too pretty to lose!

Our Regina's been a busy woman! Not only did she celebrate a birthday and was wined and dined by a handsome gent, she still found time for her FPS! Look...

Hope your birthday was as lovely as your FPS is! Happy Birthday Regina!

Rochelle has been a busy bee! Look at her progress.....

She's already up to tier 15 and it's a beauty! Wow, nice job Rochelle! Rochelle is pretty close to finishing but she is thinking of doing less tiers because she feels the stole will be too big as written - is anyone else having the same thoughts?

Valerie too is finding her stole is coming out quite big! She's in the middle of tier 18 and she's thinking of stopping at tier 19 for a length that works for her. Her stole is just stunning....

at any length!

Can't wait to see it stretched out a bit and I know you're thrilled to be *this close* to the finish line!

Whew, my group has been very busy this week! Keep up the good work ladies, y'all all are my inspiration! See ya next week!

Spring is a fickle lady

... at least in this part of the country where I live. Last week it was all sun and shine, then it rained yesterday and today windy and cool. But perhaps we all have a spring lady in us ... flying from one project to another ... :) The update this week would be short. But first of all, let's welcome another new comer ... Cheryl of Diva Knitting. She would be using yarns from Alpaca Yarn Company ... details to be decided.

Anita is having a good start with the project:While you are reading this, I think she is well into Tier 4. Oh, she told me she was getting really good at knitting backwards. ;)

Dawn had a struggling moment choosing between FPS and Persian Poppy Waist Coat, a colourwork project. For this round, lace lost to colourwork. But I am sure she would pick up the stole very soon.

Heather found that she was progressing much better in her second attempt of the project. She is now halfway through Tier 4.

I put down the stole for a week to finish a pair of socks. Now that the socks are done, I am all ready for my lace again.

See you next week!

Is it Spring Fever?

Seems like everyone in Knitbloglandia is having a busy, busy Spring cause only TWO members of my group have updates this week!!

But oh what updates they are!

Opal has finally started her FPS and she's totally in love with it! She's using Zephyr in a stunning bottle green....Look at this beauty!

She's already past tier 4! Go, Opal, go!

Polly has another beautiful example of a black FPS cause Polly's using black Zephyr just like Agnes.

She's already on tier 2 and her knitting looks lovely but she still thinks the Lily of the Valley pattern is the enemy, hehe!

Everybody else seems to be knitting but either not the on the FPS, no pics or they haven't posted on their blogs in a while. I hope everyone is still enjoying the FPS and let's hope we can have some more updates for next week!

Have a great week and don't let the Spring Fever get ya!

No, I haven't lost my internet access

... and my computers are working fine. Only that the husband suddenly had a back pain yesterday afternoon, the usual time I have for posting, and decided to work from home. The laptop he used for work is, unfortunately, where I stored the updates! Really sorry about the delay. So, let's jump right into this week's update, shall we?

How about starting with moi this week? I devoted the whole week to knitting the stole last week and made significant progress:I am pretty excited, you know ... from Tier 12 to Tier 16! I just have about one third to go before the border, which I anticipate to be rather boring! :D

I know someone else was extremely excited the last week too. Guess who?Heather restarted the project using a cream/vanilla yarn and we can all see the beautiful lace patterns even without any "hand blocking"! She has close-up shots of each pattern on her blog. If I am reading her correctly, she is planning to make TWO Forest Path Stoles! Woo!

So, remember Denise who is on vacation in Florida with 5 kids? She is still having her sanity intact ... hehehe ... But can you believe it? She brought along the cone of yarn and the pattern with her! We'll see how she was doing after St. Patrick's Day.

Despite some frogging due to inattention due to familiarity with the pattern, Dorothy made it to Tier 10. Look at this pretty pink lady:The element of monotony does set in with such a big project. This is also why I would put the project down for a while once I made good progress. This way, when I pick it up again, I kind of having to get familiar with the patterns again.


Janine is already on Tier 3:Do you like how her modified version turns out? I think it is neat!

Kathy came to a realization at 10pm one night that she was not knitting the stole in the right colour! So, the green version was in the frog pond and she would be making a cream-coloured one ... the perfect colour for a masterpiece lace. I hope we would have a chance to see the new project soon.

Katrina is 1/3 of the way:From time to time, she needs to move on to something less brain intensive ... exactly how I feel!

I haven't heard from Janina for a week and it turned out she has lost her internet connection. During this time, she has done some "soul searching" concerning lace knitting. She conceded that having more than one lace project on the needles is something too much for her as a beginner lace knitter. She decided to focus her attention on the Swallowtail Shawl and put a delay on FPS. One very important thing as a knitter is learn to listen to that "little voice" within us. Let's wish her good luck with her Swallowtail Shawl ... which she wants to wear in June.

So, that's all about it for this week. I would try to be punctual next week! ;)

Ennui reigns in blogland but not here!

Except of course for me! Nothing much to show from yours truly, I've just started tier 3 and it looks pretty much like my last pic so I'll spare you the excitement :)

Opal's finally started but no pics - poor Opal, it's a dark day in Paradise Hawaii so no pics for us yet! She is doing well tho cause she's already on her third tier too! Can't wait to see some pics next week!!

Smart Peggy has found a way to make her FPS knitting less painful! It's working cause she's on tier 5! For those of you having difficulties following the charts, go pay Peggy a visit, I highly recommend her solution!

There are finally flowers in Polly's part of the UK!! No it's not an early spring, she's started her FPS! She's using pretty zephyr in black.

I know you're praying for uncharacteristically sunny days in England so you can see your FPS Polly!

Our newest "team" member Regina, has made a great showing, just look at her lovely stole.

She's using yummy cashmere in a colorway called Lemongrass and she's already on tier 3. Way to go, Regina!

Here's Rochelle's stole from a few weeks ago

She's even further along now, she's started tier 11!

Thus ends this week's installment of As the Lace Knits!

Since there is so much green yarn around here we all must be *honorary* Irish so Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! May the Zephyr rise to meet you and your needle tips master every nupp! :)

It's been quiet lately

Another week, ladies! It has been quite a quiet week mostly because, I think, for those of us who have started, we've gotten into our own rhythm and kept knitting along; while for those who haven't even started, well, just remember to give me and Debi a shout if you do so that the group can cheer for you. :)

First of all, let me introduce another new member to the group. Blogless Amy is going to use Zephyr in Basil for the project. She is feeling excited about this project not only because it is gorgeous, but also it is her first project using laceweight yarns. She has made a Charlotte's Web Shawl using Koigu. I think you'll just need some time to get used to the laceweight, afterwards, it would just be like knitting any other weight yarns, Amy. Perhaps the best to get the hang of laceweight yarn is to swatch ... this way you can get to know what needles you like best too. Welcome to the fun, Amy!

Dawn found that she just couldn't work in the evening because the colour of the yarn is too close to that of the needles. So, she can only work every other weekend. But she is already onto Tier 5:


After reading last week's Tuesday update, Denise wondered if the calling for 2 different sizes of needles was once again the result of the difference between the magazine pattern and the individual pattern. Anyone knows? She hasn't started her stole yet as she is now enjoying a 10-day spring break in Florida ... with 5 college-aged kids!!!!! (One exclamation mark for each kid ... hahaha ...) She would be doing some needle hunting there too.

Poor Heather! After finishing Tier 4 and some hand blocking, she finally decided that the lace patterns won't pop out with the stripy colourway. So, all those efforts in the last 4 weeks were now put into the frog pond. {{{HUGS}}} She is now waiting for the new yarn in the Campfire colourway to arrive.

I think all of us have our own nemesis in lace patterns. For many, the lily of the valley lace is the first on the list because of the nupps. But for Janine, it is the birch leaf lace ... for some mysterious reason, she just couldn't get the decreases to line up correctly. So, she kicked it out of her stole and just knits the fern and lily of the valley. Interestingly enough, I don't like the birch leaf pattern either ... but not so much as to completely abandon it. :)

Kathy has returned and is about to start Tier One! Yay!

After messing around with other projects for a week, I finally returned to my black stole and am moving onto Tier 12. Since I bet you won't see the difference between a photo showing the stole at Tier 10 and one showing Tier 12, I spare you that one! I would be working on it mainly the following 2 weeks and hope to get more done.

Despite Gateway's best efforts, I'm back :)

And I'm here with lots of updates and progress pics!

Kris was having serious nupp issues until she discovered the *perfect* needle, and right in her own online store stock too! Viva le Inox Gray and viva Sonny and Shear! It should be much smoother sailing for Kris from now on!

If you want to read a great post about the love/hate feelings that the FPS elicits, go give Meg a read....she's made it to tier 2 and has some wonderful opinions to share.

After a rocky start with a pattern rife with errata, Melanie has finally ironed out all her issues and she and her FPS have fallen back in love! She's gotten thru her first tier and she's rocking the knit this time around! Look....


Have a gander at the yummy green Melissa is using for her FPS!

Her yarn is delicious but she's having a bit of angst over how long term a project the FPS is....does anyone else have any suggestions for keeping the project "fresh and new"? I suggested managing 2 tiers a week would get the stole done in about 3 months and for me, that's very do-able....anyone else have others tips to add?

Opal's finally finished her Hidcote shawl and it's stunning! Can the FPS be far behind? I wonder what yarn she'll choose, she seems to be a real Zephyr fan!

Looks like Peggy got those needles cause she's already on tier #4. Here's a pic from tier #3....
She's another one with that ole love/hate thing going on....she's worried all the shawl "irregularities" wont disappear when the stole is blocked. Let's all reassure her about the *magic* of blocking when it comes to lace!

We have a new member to our group.....go meet Regina! She's still waiting on her yarn to arrive but her pattern has made it's appearance (make sure to read about all the problems in the posts here to save yourself some serious angst grrlfriend!) She sure does have some pretty knitting on her blog so go make her welcome and say hello!

Even tho it looks like an unrecognizable blob, Valerie has made it to tier 13!!! WOO HOO Valerie, well done!

Can't wait to see that *blob* after a good blocking!

And last but not least, your fearless group leader, aka me! finally has some progress shots and a yarn that's a keeper (thank all things holy!) Have a peek:

It's Jaggerspun Zephyr in Juniper which is a lovely bluish green that reminds me of blue spruce Christmas trees! I love knitting with the zephyr and the color is just perfect!

Sorry for missing the update last week but things seem to be back to "useable" again so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Have a lovely, knitterly week everyone, see ya next Thursday!

Sorry I'm late!

Well well well, ladies, I am so sorry that I am a little bit late today with this week's update. But here you are!

First, Denise is in need of advice about the right needles:

"Can anyone recommend a circular needle in a bamboo (or wood), with a smooth join, in a size 2 needle. I'm finding I need a size 2 for the lace weight silk I'm using. I also need a bamboo because the yarn is so slippery and I'm such a loose knitter. I'm using Crystal Palace Bamboo right now, but the join keeps catching the stitches. I looked into the Bryspun but they don't come small enough."

Any thought? Any experience to share? Please feel free to give Denise your advice in your comment, or you can send me a mail and I can give you her email so that you can talk directly. Thanks for the help in advance.

Then another lady in my group needs some advice. Janina has recovered but since the hubby was having a week-long break from work, she was still too busy to do any knitting. She finally received her vanilla Zephyr (it's about time, I'd say) and she thought this "plain jane" colour would be best for showcasing the lace patterns. Very true ... though I think vanilla is "lovely jane" ... hahaha ... Okay, she has a question concerning needle size:
"I see that the pattern calls for different size needles -one for the seed stitch border and one size up for the lace. Has anyone done this, or chose to use one size for everything? Swatch, I must swatch to see what the difference is."
Honestly, I didn't notice the pattern called for different needle size ... but this is just normal for me who is always absent-minded. Again, feel free to throw in your opinions for Janina.

There are quite some setbacks among us this past week. Here 2trees thought that her multi-coloured yarn was good with the border and base triangles, but not so much with the lace panels:
So, she is going to frog this and start over with a solid colour which won't compete with the lace. The poor girl frogged 2 lace projects in one week!

Then Beth is still struggling with the unmatched number of stitches. With the advice of other knitters in her lace knitters group, she decided to start from square one ... with swatching and washing the swatch.

Janine is taking matters into her own hands. She doesn't like the pattern the way it is because it is just too busy for her. So, she is going to make great changes to the pattern so that she would get a stole that would suit her physique. This is what she has in mind:Turquoise will be the fern pattern, yellow will be the lily of the valley pattern and the grey will be as per the original - seed stitch. I think it is a pretty clever way to get something less complicated but retaining the spirit of the design.

Colette was having some knitter ADD and found it hard to concentrate on anything ... but she is now on Tier 15! Think where she would be when she gets rid of her ADD?

Besides having dyeing fun with her kids, Heather has been making steady progress. She is onto Tier 4:
Lovely, isn't it? I think the lace patterns would get more outstanding when the stole is blocked.

Katrina has made it to Tier 4:
*whispering* Go check out the car she bought the past weekend ... it's a mercedes benz!

For me, I haven't knitted a stitch on the stole the past week ... I was suddenly bitten by the Clapotis bug and just had to finish the impromptu project! I think I'll get back to the lace soon.

Technical Problem

If you are waiting to read updates on Debi's group, I'm sorry to tell you that it's not going to happen today. Her computers are both down and she has no internet access ... most probably for a few days. So, please go on with your knitting and check back next week. Wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead.