From size 10's to size 3's
I'm all finished knitting the Sybil Cardigan (and yes, working on the pattern! It'll be out very soon!) and started yet another project . . . even though what I should be doing is finishing some of the stuff that's nearly-done. But you know what it's like when new yarn shows up in the mail, right?
First you think, "I'll just wind it so I can see the colors"
Then when that's done, you think "I'll just swatch it quick, just to give it a try"
The next thing you know you're off and running and trying not to feel guilty about it.This happens often enough to me that I should really just either accept it and move on, or never ever bring that fateful new skein of yarn into my apartment until it's OK to dive in!
Anyway, what you see above is what I've got knit so far on this new design. I knit all that in just one day! On size 3 needles. Clearly I'm liking this!
The yarn is Sandra Singh's Laceweight and it's a dream to knit. It's very soft but strong enough not to break as you work with it, which is important with such thin yarn. Going from the size 10's I used on Sybil to these size 3's has been really hysterical! It took me a little while to get my groove back on the thin needles, let me tell you.
Here's a closeup of the lace:
The concept for this shawl is to do a lace design that's appropriate for a first-time lace knitter but that still looks professional and delicate like "real lace" does. I've seen plenty of patterns for "beginner" lace that has the knitter use large needles and bulky yarn and while the finished item might be attractive, it's just not what I think of when I think of lace knitting!
I've had lots of requests for a simple lace shawl pattern and that's really what inspired this new design. The lace pattern itself is only 10 stitches wide and 8 rows tall, and all WS rows are all-purl (my favorite!) so it's really simple to knit and easy to memorize. But it's not boring at all, and it uses one more advanced lace technique that is not at all difficult to execute but which will make you feel like a lace super-star when you've learned it!
I'm super excited for this design and can't wait to write the pattern up and photograph it. But I've got to finish it first ;o)
Oh and in other news, Koigu sent me a UPS shipping notification today, here's a screenshot:
Gulp. Where am I going to store all that yarn!??!?
