Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Autumn Lace Scarf

... I was really excited about knitting something in lace.... After visiting Lacis in San Francisco, I was determined. I dove right in and had a lace melt down. My brain and lace do not get along... at all.

No love between me and the process of making lace, especially fancy lace. I did appease my need for a lace project by finding a relatively simple short lace repeat, more a cluster repeat, that I could handle.

autumnscarf_1

I know I'm a very visual person and this project verified that for me. If I can't visually see what the next stitch or group of stitches are supposed to be, then I'm doomed.

This is a 4 row repeat...more like a 2 row shift repeated twice. So the only thing that changed were the first 4 stitches of each row, which shifted the pattern over so the clusters stagger. This makes it very easy to know, within the first cluster if things are on the right track. It also means that its easy catch a missed YO or K2tog within a few stitches instead of at the end of the a full repeat (several rows later).

But even this simple pattern commanded most if not all of my attention. I had to repeat the steps in my head and really get into a flow and rarely stop in the middle of row and certainly never ever in the middle of a cluster.

In the end, the scarf is wonderful. It's light and airy but still warm. It compliments the multiple colors in the yarn and it was well worth the effort.

I must say, find it a bit ironic that I seem so incapable of doing lace, as I really like thin weight yarns. Most of my yarns are fingering weight or thiner, and I think the only bulky yarn I've used was my sweet potato cardigan. On the other hand, I don't even wear lace, so it all works out just fine.

autumnscarf_2

I will, one day... in the distant future, venture back into the land of lace, but for now I must return to cables, knits and purls and only the occasional Yarn Over.

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