A New Year, A New Shawl
Hi everybody, and hope you are getting ready to start knitting. Sallee and I are sharing the responsibilities of "list mamas" and I will be sending out invitations to all of those who have asked to join the KAL so that Blogger will allow you to sign in and post regularly. If you don't have a Blogger account, you will need one to post, or can email me directly!
I did start my Hidcote last night, as we didn't really want to go anywhere (we could have walked down to the town bar, but aren't really bar-goers and had just gotten back home after almost a week's vacation and were glad to just be here). I managed to do my first-ever provisional cast-on, make my garter strip and pick up and establish my first stitches - whoo, hoo! I can see that it will be somewhat slow-going till I get into the rhythm of using laceweight again... I will probably be using the tiny gold jump rings for markers that I have for when working with very small needles... I am using size two bamboo Crystal Palace needles that I picked up last week for this purpose, and my Knitpicks Shadow in Iris, following Sallee's suggestion. She and I discussed the options for laceweight that I had sitting in my stash as we began setting up the KAL, and that will really be the best of my three options for a springtime, garden-themed shawl. The best part for me is that this shawl will keep me thinking about spring and gardens through the dark nights. The days are getting a tiny bit longer, but the landscape is cold and frozen each morning, reminding me that spring is still a long ways away.
I did start my Hidcote last night, as we didn't really want to go anywhere (we could have walked down to the town bar, but aren't really bar-goers and had just gotten back home after almost a week's vacation and were glad to just be here). I managed to do my first-ever provisional cast-on, make my garter strip and pick up and establish my first stitches - whoo, hoo! I can see that it will be somewhat slow-going till I get into the rhythm of using laceweight again... I will probably be using the tiny gold jump rings for markers that I have for when working with very small needles... I am using size two bamboo Crystal Palace needles that I picked up last week for this purpose, and my Knitpicks Shadow in Iris, following Sallee's suggestion. She and I discussed the options for laceweight that I had sitting in my stash as we began setting up the KAL, and that will really be the best of my three options for a springtime, garden-themed shawl. The best part for me is that this shawl will keep me thinking about spring and gardens through the dark nights. The days are getting a tiny bit longer, but the landscape is cold and frozen each morning, reminding me that spring is still a long ways away.
posted by Birdsong at 1:01 PM
3 Comments:
I wonder if it will be a problem that I switched to "new blogger." I have trouble posting comments, and sometimes (right now) can't even log in.
Tan--I have run into that every once in a while since blogger upgraded. I found that it seems to help to shutdown my computer and start over. A pain, but so far, it's worked.
Birdsong--I'll be using Alpaca Cloud in Iris. I think it's a perfect color for this shawl, especially since it centers around fields of lavendar. I have found that Alpaca Cloud, even though it has the same yardage as Shadow for the same weight, is a thinner yarn. I wonder if it will make a tremendous difference in the look of the shawl. My plan isn't for one that is lighter than air. I like the look of the original and am still wondering if I should double the yarn.
I hope Miriam chimes in on Jennyraye's question; I am a notoriously loose knitter and am using a needle size smaller than the pattern calls for... which is one way you could get the fabric you desire. I suggest that you knit through the first chart and see how the fabric looks, even pin it as if to block (after that the shawl will start getting too big, and then determine which way to proceed. I don't consider gauge as much for lace knitting as I do whether I am getting the lace structure I want to see and the hand that I think the fabric should have.
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