Your Choice Lace KAL - Starting in June

[HomekeepingGran]

Although I have no intention of being a "fearless" (gulp) leader there are several of us who want to either learn or improve our lace knitting skills. This is the Official KAL for a lace project of Your Choice, beginning on June 1st of 2009.

 

Are you like me? — Always thought knitted lace was very special and wished you knew how to do it? Maybe you have longed for that pretty, delicate stuff to come off YOUR needles but are afraid to begin? Now is your chance to try it and to have some more experienced lace knitters to help. (mamaoso, you'd better jump in here, please!) Lace is not as hard to learn as it looks and there are plenty of simple patterns to begin with. Between help you can get here and help from the Internet you can do this! You also do not have to begin with tiny string and toothpicks to learn lace. You can start with regular needles and anything up to worsted, although sport or DK weight might give you a more pleasing finished product depending upon your pattern.

 

Don't know what to look for in a pattern? I personally suggest finding an easy pattern which has traditional written-out instructions and a chart. Charts look intimidating but a lot of people swear by them once they become accustomed to the symbols.

 

Many new lace knitters begin with Knitty's Branching Out but there is no reason you must start with it if it looks too hard or if you simply don't care for it. There are simpler patterns than B.O. which are very pretty.

 

If you don't mind buying a pattern, Anne Hanson's Rivolo ($5 - Paypal and you can get it as an Internet download if you prefer) is done with sock yarn and is very suitable for a beginner. Anne gives both written and charted instructions and is quite clear; you will find no ambiguities in her patterns. She has other beginner patterns in her shop, too. Check out her Little Nothings section and look for patterns where she says they are suitable for a beginning lace knitter.

 

Another free beginner pattern is Lace Wrap by Classic Elite Yarns — simple, pretty, and it has written and charted instructions. Plus, this pattern is written for worsted weight yarn which is easy to work with and easy to find.

 

OK. My advertisement is over.

 

Wanna join?

[mamaoso]

you beat me to the post.. Good job..

 

 

I'll be in my craftroom digging out my yarn for my Jubilee. And find a cable needle. I only have about 6 or 7 of them.. someplace in here..

[HomekeepingGran]

Whew. I am so glad you jumped right in there, mamaoso! It might just be my computer (it often is just my computer) but your link didn't work for me while ago. I want to see your Jubilee!

 

I am biting a huge silver bullet here, but I will try Frosted Ferns by Herbert Niebling. The link is to a lady's version which I find particularly lovely. I have a similarly colored #10 crochet thread and much as I would like to go ahead and get her exact thread, it's hard to justify driving an hour to my LYS to get it. My thread is good quality, I think I have plenty of it and it will be pretty, I'm sure. If I can do this right, it will.

 

I should have mentioned that while we plan to start June 1st, there is no finishing deadline of any sort. Someone who chooses a less involved project could finish very quickly while others may take longer. Your Choice at your pace.

[mamaoso]

That is beautiful!!!!

I recieved this as one of the Kit from Annie's Attic.

So I'm going to try the Knitted version of the Ribbon Waves for my Doily KAL.

I need 7 size 3 DPN's haven't read though the pattern so don't know what I'll be doing with them all yet..

[wiz3283]

I think I will join you ladies and learn to do some lace. I don't know what pattern I want to use yet but I know I will find just the right one for me.

[HomekeepingGran]

Ribbon Waves is a doily, mamaoso? Your picture came up small but I can tell it's a book of doilies. But are you doing Jubilee with us? Am I catching this right?

 

Hi, wiz! I knew you would be here sometime soon. Good! I hope you find exactly what you are looking for.

[wiz3283]

Hi Carla,

 

Just trying to get my Wips done so I can concentrate on this Kal. Two down and 3 to go before I feel like I have enough off my plate to take this on. I have found so many beautiful patterns but as I am still kind of new to knitting some of my favorites are still out of my comfort range. I am looking at scarfs, shawls, stoles, doilies, and just about anything to get ideas. I cant wait to get started but I did promiss DH to finish at least 5 of my current wips first.

Well off to get 3 more off my plate. See you soon.

[wiz3283]

This is so pretty and looks like something I might be able to do. I have to see what size dps I have and what yarn I have but thisis on the maybe list.

http://knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/doilies/lace-doily.htm

[HomekeepingGran]

Tammy, that's a sweet little doily. Have you worked with DPNs before?

[wiz3283]

I have done a little with DP but I much prefer to use circulars.

[HomekeepingGran]

I like circulars for just about everything but if the circumference is small, there is no substitute for DPNs, Tammy. It took me a little bit to get used to them but once I learned, they're not hard. I think I'm going to start my doily with a crocheted magic loop, then move those 6 little stitches onto DPNs until I've increased enough to move to 2 circulars, then finally, a single circular. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry, so we'll see how it really plays out. I might stay with the DPNs until the single larger circ, I dunno.

 

Any other lace wannabes out there? Although we've been talking about knitting doilies you can certainly start with something easier — how about a scarf or a cowl? Or maybe you would like to try a cotton washcloth with a lacy design like in an elegant spa! Or in the same vein, maybe some lace trim for a handtowel? — A project doesn't have to be big or extremely intricate to join us... we're all learning here.

[Goldkeeper]

Carla I want to thank you for mentioning the crochet magic loop (had a book that showed the steps).. and with the 5" DPN I got from clover I was able to start a knitted doily... I also have these lace scarfs started ..But I am so excited that I finally got the hang of DPN's

[HomekeepingGran]

Everything is looking really good, Ana! I think you've started more lace than I realized since I don't remember the variegated or green, but that is possibly just my faulty memory. Are you using crochet thread for your doily? And what size are your DPNs?

[Goldkeeper]

Carla ,

 

 

The DPN's are size 2 and thread is 3 I went overboard on a sale that JoAnn's had and bought well every color they had on size 3 thread.... The yellow one was started while I was making the striped one I finished ..the green one was started while I was making the yellow and the variegated one was started when my daughter looked at my patterns and said she wanted that one made with that thread :whewI start them as samples to see how they look and them I keep knitting them..

[wiz3283]

I have got so many ideas now I hop eI can pick one and put the others on the "later list. I still have a thread bear and 2-3 ghans to finish before I have my current wips under control but I am plugging away.

 

Carla If I decide to go with a doily I think I will take your advice on the dps then move to circular when its big enough.

 

I just have to decide what I want to make first. I have to admit the anticipation is killing me.

[mamaoso]

Yea it's a doily..

See if I can get the link to Jubilee scarf http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html

 

 

Have you tried magic loop instead of the DPN's to start your Doily's? To me it's a whole lot easier..

[HomekeepingGran]

Yea it's a doily..

See if I can get the link to Jubilee scarf http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html

 

 

Have you tried magic loop instead of the DPN's to start your Doily's? To me it's a whole lot easier..

 

Now I can see them. Thanks, mamaoso. Both are so pretty. I kind of thought from something you said on another thread that you haven't done knitted doilies before. Am I remembering right or am I off-base? And since I am a green fan I practically always like it if it's in green, LOL, but aside from the color, Jubilee is a pretty pattern

 

Tammy, you are finishing 2-3 afghans in the next 9 days? Wow. Wow again. I'm gonna watch. Go, Tammy, go!

[HomekeepingGran]

I've never made a doily before but using the crocheted magic loop method is how I plan to start. Getting DPNs going is fiddly enough without trying it for only 6 stitches! I hope it works well for me.

[wiz3283]

Tammy, you are finishing 2-3 afghans in the next 9 days? Wow. Wow again. I'm gonna watch. Go, Tammy, go!

 

 

Two are baby ghans and one is a simple rectangle granny ghan so I sure am going to try. The one baby ghan is called dainty baby and the other is just a stockinget stitch blanket that will have a crocheted border. I keep alternating between the ghans so at least a little gets done everyday on each. I have to take breaks every now and then so my wrists dont get sore.

 

I think I will be putting my thread bear and my other "surprise" thread project on hold until I get the ghans done. The bear and the surprise projcet are for me so I can work on them anytime. The other ghans are gifts so they have to get done. Off to go work on them again. See you later.

[HomekeepingGran]

Still. My hands would not hold up to that, I'm afraid. Not even baby afghans. I watch you people race through all these beautiful projects and am amazed. But then, I guess handwork can be meditative at a slower pace so there are compensations either way. (Putting a bright face on it.)

[wiz3283]

I am a very slow knitter but not so bad crocheting. The crochet ghan is about 1/2 done now and the large ghan is 1/4 done. The knit ghan is between 2/3 and 3/4 done. Theat one has been going for awhile so I try to work on it the most.

 

I just watched the video for the knitted magic loop and I just may use this depending on which project I choose. I really like this method much better than the dps

[HomekeepingGran]

Magic loop will work IF you have a really long, flexible cable between your needles. Otherwise there will be too much tension and it could spoil your pretty lace and be hard to work with. Personally I like KnitPicks for all my circular needles because they have great flexible cables which work quite well and nice pointy points to really dig into some of those lace stitches which can tighten up on you. KnitPicks is reasonably priced, too.

 

Tammy, I had an Addi lace needle (supposedly the very best) when I started Twinings and it kept hanging up my yarn at the join to my great aggravation. One of my LYS owners advised me to buff it with a fine emery cloth but when I tried that, the whole needle just roughed up and was spoiled. I guess my husband's emery wasn't fine enough but instead of getting another Addi to fight with, I ordered a comparable needle from KnitPicks and was much happier with it.

[wiz3283]

Carla thanks for all the tips. I appreciate it.

 

I too am a total knitpicks fan. I have the entire harmony circular set and a few of the nickel plated interchangables too. I just ordered some of the larger cables as well as the smaller size fixed circulars with long cables too so if I decide to do a doily on them I will have the size I need. At least I hope I will.

 

Before I tried knitpicks I had tried to learn to knit and just got frustrated. I pretty much decided knitting was evil and I hated to knit. A friend of mine heard this and loaned me her harmony set. I was hooked from then on. I still own a few other brand needles but they haven't been touched since I got knitpicks. Even my DPs are knitpicks.

 

Best investment I ever made!!!!!

[wiz3283]

I think I have narrowed down my pattern choices to this scarf I found on ravelry or one of these doilies.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swiss-fan-lace-scarf

http://www.yarnover.net/patterns/doilies/kunststrik/storrund.html

http://www.yarnover.net/patterns/doilies/kunststrik/egeblad.html

 

Who knows. I keep changing my mind. I am considering doing botht he scarf and one of the doilies in case something doesnt work out for my on the doilies.

[mamaoso]

Yep, my First Doily knitted or crocheted...

wiz3283~ isn't the egeblad beautiful. I have that one printed out by never started...( Just look at the pretty picture).

I my KnitPicks, too.