Monday, September 24, 2007

Branching Out

I received my ISE5 pal's info, and it appears that she really likes lace and cables. She also specified that she likes single-color items rather than a mix of color, so the Chevron scarf is OUT (for her, anyway!) Since I know I will have limited time to work on the scarf, I opted for lace over cables. Also, I've been wanting to try lace --real lace, with laceweight yarn--for some time.

So, I got some gorgeous Misti Alpaca laceweight in one of her favorite colors, and cast on for Knitty's Branching Out. When I started with the laceweight, I just couldn't handle it...it is soooooo fine. Since I had enough to do so, I got the idea to double the yarn. The pattern has two options, one with DK weight, so I knew doubling would be OK. Now things are moving along well, and I can see that once this is finished and blocked, it will have a totally different look--that "magic" moment that lace knitters talk about. Here's where I am so far:


So far though, this project has brought me to the realization that I don't think I'll knit with laceweight yarn anymore. I like knitting lace patterns (like many of those in my recently acquired Lace Style), but with heavier yarn, thank you very much.

I hope my pal likes her finished scarf, and I'll have to thank her for providing me with a teachable knitting moment!

3 comments:

Alison said...

That's beautiful! Even unblocked, to my eyes it looks like it's going to be the perfect balance between pattern and yarn. Well done!

--AlisonH at spindyeknit.com

Ang said...

I'm like you, I love the idea of knitting lace, but it has to be heavier than laceweight yarn, I can't handle that stuff, and the knitting moves far too slowly for me!

Your scarf is looking great, looking forward to seeing the progress.

Spooky said...

I found you through the ISE blog. I'm also making this scarf, for the ravelry scarf exchange. I love the pattern but find it a bit tedious.
It looks awesome in laceweight (I'm knitting it in dk baby alpaca)!