Your Choice Lace KAL - Starting in June

[mamaoso]

Yep, like that..

I changed my mind about the doily.

I'm going to do this one from I Can't Believe I'm Lace Knitting.. Leaf Doily.

[wiz3283]

Carla - I love your twinlings. It is gorgeous!

 

Mamaoso - That doily is also very pretty.

 

Ana - I will be here cheering you on. This is my first attempt at knitting lace so I am eger to learn from all of you.

 

I have been knitting and crocheting so much the past week to get things done that I ended up having to take a break most of yesterday afternoon. My arms, shoulders, wrists, and hands have been so overworked they were throbbing. Today is much better so I will be back at it trying to finish everything I can.

 

I can't wait to get started on this KAL. I will be making the scarf and if my knitpicks order comes in I just might be attempting the doily as well.

 

I hope others will decided to join us but if not I know the 4 of us will have a great time. See you soon. Have a great day everyone!!!

[HomekeepingGran]

Ooooooo, pretty! What color will you use, mama O.?

 

Somewhere on Ravelry there is a thread with people showing mainly lace before and after blocking. I don't think I marked it or I would link to it for the Ravelry people. Over and over you can see what a huge difference it makes. But it's so strange because I have a book on crochet by English crochet expert Pauline Turner, and she obviously hasn't blocked her doilies. I think I've read that the British do a lot less blocking than we do here in the States.

[HomekeepingGran]

I have been knitting and crocheting so much the past week to get things done that I ended up having to take a break most of yesterday afternoon. My arms, shoulders, wrists, and hands have been so overworked they were throbbing. Today is much better so I will be back at it trying to finish everything I can.

 

Ouch. I was afraid you might overdo it, Tammy. Take a break. Rest. If you don't have your health you don't have anything. (Riffed right out of "The Princess Bride" and one of the funniest lines in the movie!) I do mean it, Tammy, even if I act silly with quotes. You can permanently damage your hands or arms by too much crocheting or knitting. Please be careful with it.

 

Oh, and thanks for the compliment. I love that pattern!

[HomekeepingGran]

I'm sorry to monopolize this thread but I wanted to tell everyone tht my swift arrived today! I am learning to use it and have wound up two hanks of laceweight thread. I'm going to wind a third and see if I can get the process down completely like I want it. For the first two the swift seemed to put too much tension on the yarn as the winder worked but I think I may have figured out a correction for that. (Maybe? I hope?) I think the swift should spin a little more freely and perhaps it will with use.

 

I ended up re-winding the first hank because it was way too tight, I thought. The cakes of yarn should be well-formed but not taut. They should be a bit squishy. Re-winding made it a slow process but still it's much faster than winding by hand! Who knew there would be such a learning curve even for this?

[wiz3283]

Carla I am so glad you got your swift. I would be lost without my ball winder. I have no idea how I ever lived without it.

[HomekeepingGran]

Good morning, good morning! This Your Choice Lace Knitting KAL officially begins the day after tomorrow —June 1! I hope everyone is getting their yarns or threads and patterns in order. If you read through you will see that we have a resident expert, mamaoso, to help you through any lace troubles you might have.

 

If you are reading this and thinking of joining us, jump right in! As I said earlier it's perfectly fine to choose a small, simple project for your first lace and we want to have you with us. Lace is hot in knitting right now and is seen on everything from dainty lace shawls to socks. Even humble washcloths are showing up in lace! We'll be working on our projects for a while so if you decide 2 weeks from now (or whenever) to try some lace, come on in — the water's fine!

 

[Goldkeeper]

Hi guys ..

I was ready until the thread that I was going to get is back order and I won't get it until after the 6th of June ..So I can finish one of the lace scarfs I started , the purpleish / multicolor one for my daughter or the green one for me ..

I love the swifts and ball winders but I don't seem to need them since I buy thread .. But one day I would love to get them since I am a gadget person

[mamaoso]

:thinkIf you read through you will see that we have a resident expert, mamaoso, to help you through any lace troubles you might have.

I wouldn't say expert...

Have some bamboo thread in natrual,size 10 that I'm going to try for my doily.

[wiz3283]

Anna I love the colors and the patterns. I am going to make the scarf and since I don't know when my knitpick order will be in I can always start something else with you later.

This is going to be fun!

 

Mamaoso - I haven't knitted withthe bambo thread yet but it works up wonerfully for crocheted doilies. I love it!

[KellyA]

I have wanted to knit lace :dreaming for a while but have been fearful due to my LYS owner "hating" it . I didn't know where to turn, yes the internet has great tutorials but sometimes you need that gentle nudge that an individual does especially one that has great experiences.

 

With that said I feel that the ladies on the 'ville will guide me to a successful first attempt. I have one question to ask before beginning......what is the best type of fiber to use for a first trail? I would like to use something in my stash if I have it. Any advise will help and thanks ladies

 

[wiz3283]

I have wanted to knit lace :dreaming for a while but have been fearful due to my LYS owner "hating" it . I didn't know where to turn, yes the internet has great tutorials but sometimes you need that gentle nudge that an individual does especially one that has great experiences.

 

With that said I feel that the ladies on the 'ville will guide me to a successful first attempt. I have one question to ask before beginning......what is the best type of fiber to use for a first trail? I would like to use something in my stash if I have it. Any advise will help and thanks ladies

 

 

This will be my first attempt too. Not sure what the best is to use but I am sure the others here can reccomend something.

[KellyA]

Oh and Happy Birthday Mamaoso :cake:party:party:bday

[wiz3283]

Mamaoso!!! I hope the yarn fairies bring you your hearts desire.

[HomekeepingGran]

Kelly, hello and welcome to the Your Choice Lace KAL! I am so glad to see some more interest in knitting lace. It's really strange that your LYS owner doesn't like lace. He/she must be a different one...

 

Do you have an idea what pattern you might like to try, Kelly? Or what type of object you want to finish with? Are you looking for a scarf or something smaller, like maybe a dishcloth? What is the smallest yarn you have knitted with so far? A number of lacey patterns may be done with DK or sportweight, or if you are comfortable with it, fingering (sock) yarn. Personally I preferred a solid to start with so I didn't get distracted by the colors and could see my stitches well. How adventurous are you? Do you like to jump right in or do are you more cautious? Lots of questions...

 

mamaoso! Happy birthday, my friend! May you have many blessed returns.

[KellyA]

Kelly, hello and welcome to the Your Choice Lace KAL! I am so glad to see some more interest in knitting lace. It's really strange that your LYS owner doesn't like lace. He/she must be a different one...

 

Do you have an idea what pattern you might like to try, Kelly? Or what type of object you want to finish with? Are you looking for a scarf or something smaller, like maybe a dishcloth? What is the smallest yarn you have knitted with so far? A number of lacey patterns may be done with DK or sportweight, or if you are comfortable with it, fingering (sock) yarn. Personally I preferred a solid to start with so I didn't get distracted by the colors and could see my stitches well. How adventurous are you? Do you like to jump right in or do are you more cautious? Lots of questions...

 

mamaoso! Happy birthday, my friend! May you have many blessed returns.

 

LYS has had issues when knitting lace and prefers not to do it...I know there are others who stop in her shop to do open knitting but trying to schedule my time with them has been hetic.

I have knitted with sock yarn and have made socks as well as fingerless gloves. I only have self striping sock yarn in my stash, however I do have some sportweight in solid. As far as the pattern is concerned I am thinking of the http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html pattern you posted in the 1st post.

[HomekeepingGran]

LYS has had issues when knitting lace and prefers not to do it...I know there are others who stop in her shop to do open knitting but trying to schedule my time with them has been hetic.

I have knitted with sock yarn and have made socks as well as fingerless gloves. I only have self striping sock yarn in my stash, however I do have some sportweight in solid. As far as the pattern is concerned I am thinking of the http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html pattern you posted in the 1st post.

 

I made mine in sock yarn and it blocked out very lacy. Sport would be fine, too, Kelly, and might be a really good choice if you have some you would like in your pattern. Actually, if you can manage to see the stitches OK and you have some self-stripe yarn you want to use, then go for it... Ana (Goldkeeper) used a variegated DK for her Branching Out, I think, but it didn't self-stripe although I think it did some pooling. She loved it and wore it right away since it matched her winter coat and she wanted a pretty scarf. A lot of it is personal preference, but I'm sure you know that without me telling you. (You asked for suggestions so I threw some out.) Your scarf will block nicely in wool but be careful to not get something scratchy unless you plan to wear it outside your coat.

[mamaoso]

Wow, thank you all for the birthday wishes..

Kelly A- My first lace scarf was going to be with laceweight yarn. Ha,ha,ha....

Well I gave up quick.. Then I went to fingerweight yarn and found out that I could Lace Knit.

I can lace knit with cobweb now but that was after a few fingerweight ones. Kinda like work your way down.. Just depends what you are comfy with.

Yep you could use your stash yarn if you like. Self- striping might pool, depends on how close the color changes are.

I'm going to make mine with a fingerweight ( Like these http://stores.localneedle.com/-strse-Yarn-by-Manufacturer-cln-Jojoland/searchpath/43309178/start/25/total/57/Categories.bok)

Don't know what color yet. I have a few in my stash.. Haven't really looked yet to see if I have enough of one color..

[Goldkeeper]

I made mine in sock yarn and it blocked out very lacy. Sport would be fine, too, Kelly, and might be a really good choice if you have some you would like in your pattern. Actually, if you can manage to see the stitches OK and you have some self-stripe yarn you want to use, then go for it... Ana (Goldkeeper) used a variegated DK for her Branching Out, I think, but it didn't self-stripe although I think it did some pooling. She loved it and wore it right away since it matched her winter coat and she wanted a pretty scarf. A lot of it is personal preference, but I'm sure you know that without me telling you. (You asked for suggestions so I threw some out.) Your scarf will block nicely in wool but be careful to not get something scratchy unless you plan to wear it outside your coat.

 

 

I love that scarf.. yes I used Paton's Grace cotton yarn Spearmint for "Branching Out" , It worked great easy flow ..I can't wear any wool ,so cotton or silk (too expensive) is my choice of thread. I am using Aunt Lydia's and Royal size 3 Fashion crochet thread and it falls great and depending what size needles how lacy I what to make it ..

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat3124&PRODID=prd24736

[wiz3283]

Good Morning Ladies. I am not sure if I will get everything I want done with just today to do it but I am very close and several items so I am going to keep going even when I start the Kal just so I get them done. I can't wait to get started on my scarf. I decided to not start the doily too until I do finish off the blankets. That will be my way of rewarding myself for finishing the other stuff.

 

I also got asked to make bookmarks for our local library so I am going to be busy with making them too. I thought I might try to find some patterns for some knit lace bookmarkers to make here too. That way I get them done and I get to do some lace.

 

Well of to finish projects and do some housework. My house is a mess since I have spent so much time crocheting. Thank goodness I have ahubby that is wonderful and helps out alot or this house would be unlivable right now. Off to chase the dustbunnies and do some laundry. See you soon.

[KellyA]

 

I also got asked to make bookmarks for our local library so I am going to be busy with making them too. I thought I might try to find some patterns for some knit lace bookmarkers to make here too. That way I get them done and I get to do some lace.

 

 

I saw your request for bookmarkers on another thread....I would like to help and maybe increase my knowledge of lace work and help out....that is if you would like some. I promise not to send any that are horrible

[wiz3283]

I saw your request for bookmarkers on another thread....I would like to help and maybe increase my knowledge of lace work and help out....that is if you would like some. I promise not to send any that are horrible

 

Kelly that would be wonderful. I will PM you with my address. Every bookmark we receive goes to help. Thank you so much!!!!!

[HomekeepingGran]

Hey, guys. We were invited to dinner after church this morning and just got back home. I played with one of my prospective patterns last night and am not quite sure even yet which I will cast on for. (Nothing like waiting till the last minute, right?)

 

For the lace newest newbies, a suggestion: you want a reeeeeeeeally stretchy cast on since you will be blocking your finished piece out a lot larger than it first appears on the needles. There are several which work but one of the simplest is the Knitted Cast-On. Easy to learn and very easy to do.

 

See you tomorrow!!!!!

[HomekeepingGran]

Today is June 1st — the official starting date of the

Your Choice Lace Knit-Along!

 

 

Let the Cast-Ons begin!

 

 

 

LOL, actually I think some of you have already cast on and that's fine. And if somebody wants to join later, come on in! If you haven't already told us what you plan to do, how about letting the KAL know today or pretty soon, if you can.

 

After more than my share of waffling I am probably going to do Alhambra by Anne Hanson in KnitPics laceweight Gloss in Cypress, a deep forest green, which is one of my favorite colors. I know, I know — not very summery, but I virtually don't ever wear light colors and this is very pretty to my eye. Wish me well, since I always mess up the start of anything and have to do it several times to get going!

[wiz3283]

Hello all and Happy June 1. I am casting on now and looking forward to this.

 

Carla the Alhambra is on my " I want to make this" list. Can't wait to see how yours turns out. Knitpics Cypress is one of my favorite colors.

 

Thanks for the cast on video. This just happens to be one of my favorite cast ons. If it weren't for those videos I don't think I would have ever learned to knit. I am a very visual person so they really help me. I used them all the time to learn or refresh a stitch. Got to love this technology!

Well off to start knitting a few rows and finish my other wips. Have fun everyone!!!! Can't wait to see pics.