Shelda's Adventures with Lace

Enjoyable calculations

I decided this would be a good time to start thinking about how long my "Elizabeth" shawl will need to be. Initially I was thinking about some sort of progress bar or current row count that I could use to motivate myself, and update regularly on the blog. Then I realized it would be useful not only to know that I have 128 rows knitted, but what percentage that is of X, or total rows.

So... I read Myrna's note that she likes her dressy shawls to hit about wrist length and that seemed like a good plan. I measured from my neck to my wrist (25"), and then draped the measuring tape over my back with a clothespin to mark that length, and think that hits me about right. I measured my handy-dandy washed and blocked swatch, and each 32-stitch repeat of the pattern measures 3.25". 25/3.25 gives me 7.7 repeats, or a choice between 7 and 8 repeats. Allowing for the addition of the edging, and just because I like odd numbers, I suspect I'll go for 7 repeats. Because this shawl is knitted top-down, I'll be able to change my mind on that when I get there, but it's a good estimate for now.

So X = 224 rows (7 * 32). And I'm over half-way there as far as rows go! Since each row gets a bit longer, this doesn't mean I have half the knitting done, but I don't think I care to calculate the number of stitches. That seems a little too geeky even for me!

So today's tally is 128/224 rows, or 57% of rows completed. Now, wasn't that fun?

It's starting...

It's starting to look a lot like a shawl!

And you get visuals today. Three photos, taken with the shawl wrapped around my office chair to give an idea of how the Faroese shaping works. I think I'm excited! I overestimated the number of repeats I had completed when last I guesstimated. I thought four, and it was only three and a half. So I gave myself credit for 16 more rows than I had actually knitted. But after the weekend I'm now to the point where I thought I was the last time I posted. I suppose that's progress!

Front View

Back View (can you see the back panel?)

Shoulder Detail (this photo is more accurate color-wise)

Slow but steady progress

I've been doing at least two or three rows of my "Elizabeth" each night. It's coming along. I haven't counted rows lately, probably about 126 done (there's a 32-row repeat, and I'm nearly to the end of the fourth repeat).

I've not gotten much done on the lace because this week I've been knitting warm mittens, caps, and socks for children in Afghanistan. This is the "afghans for Afghans" project, and as the deadline is August 1, I thought I'd better finish up and get things mailed. Seems like a good use of stash and time.

Another day, another cloth

This is the "leaf lace" cloth from the FiberTrends "Bathing Beauties" pattern I was crowing about a day or two back. I went right home and did the leaf cloth. This was knit with Lily's Sugar and Cream sport-weight yarn, a little heavier than the no-name pink yarn I used for the "ribbon lace" cloth. It's a little larger, but I still think a wider cloth would be better.

I think next time I'll cast on 55 stitches for a leaf cloth instead of the 45 called for in the pattern (the leaf lace is a repeat of 10+5), and then "fudge" a little on the border pattern (which is a repeat of 8+5). If I add an extra plain stitch on each end I should be good to go.

I had already grabbed yarn and needles to cast on another cloth, and had to remind myself that I was supposed to be prioritizing these shawls. Ahem!

100 rows and counting

I passed the 100-row point on my "Elizabeth" shawl and switched to a 60" Addi Turbo needle. It's going along swimmingly, though slow. I draped it over my shoulders and took a look. I think I'm probably about a third of the way to the length I want. A good bit of knitting to go!

I participate from time to time in a knitted cloth exchange on the Knitted-Lace list, and have finished up two cloths for this quarter's exchange. Here's a photo:

The cloth on the left was an experiment in domino square knitting, using the eyelet square pattern from Vivian Hoxbro's Domino Knitting. It's knit from Lily's Sugar and Cream worsted weight yarn, and was finished with an I-cord trim.

The cloth on the right was knit from a fine sport-weight cotton, and is the "Ribbon Lace Washcloth" from Fiber Trends new "Bathing Beauties" pattern. As usual with Fiber Trends patterns, it was well thought-out and presented. I love knitting their patterns! I'm pretty sure I will use this pattern again and again. I think it made a lovely cloth. I might make it bigger next time. It's 7" by 10" just as the pattern states, but I think it could be wider.

Knitting along

Here's a photo of my "Elizabeth" shawl as of yesterday morning. The rows are getting longer (there are four increases every right side row), and last night I finished up row 84. I don't have a clear idea how long I want the shawl, so don't really know how long it's likely to take. But I am making sure and steady (if slow) progress.

I timed several rows of knitting, and at this point it's taking me about 21 minutes to knit a right side row and about 15 minutes to knit a wrong side row (all purl except for the seed stitch border). I'm really liking the look of the shawl so far. I love the fact that I can try it on as it goes along. Top-down knitting rocks!

One thing about knitting with this fine yarn: I have to be very careful about hangnails and dry skin as there is a great tendency for any rough spot to catch on the lace. I have a tube of my favorite lotion right by my knitting chair, and use it frequently.

Since the knitting from this point is more or less routine (until I get to the edging), I have to remind myself to get back to the charting of the Kinzel pattern. In fact, I have been reminding myself, so stronger measures may be necessary! *grin*

Back in the Saddle!

I took a little hiatus to finish up other projects (and to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), but I'm back to working on this shawl again.

Here is an "overview" photo (with terrible color, I'm not sure what's up with the digital camera), but at least you can see that I'm making progress. I've just finished the shoulder shaping, so it's pretty straightforward knitting from this point on. One of the projects I was finishing was on 2.5mm needles, and the 3.5mm ones I'm using for this shawl felt huge when I picked it back up. All relative, I suppose!

This photo is much truer to the real shade of the shawl ( which is called "Elderberry"), and shows more detail of the stitches.

The knitting is moving along pretty quickly. This next week I want to get back to graphing the "Springtime" lace pattern. Doing this shawl was a good move, however. I do understand the parameters of this shawl construction much more clearly. And I have a renewed appreciation for what Myrna managed to do with this book (Stahman's Shawls and Scarves).