This is the Lacy Prairie Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. I have never had so much trouble knitting something! I think it's because it's lace - and every stitch matters. It's a really simple pattern, there are only 3 pattern rows (alternating with knit rows), and it's kicking my butt. I started with 215 stitches. It had been awhile, and I began knitting pattern row one (which, apart from the edges, is a Double decrease (slip 2, knit 1, pass 2 slipped sts over), k3; repeated to edge etc. I got to the edge and was one stitch short.
I unknitted the row (I'm getting very good at this and the yarn is quite heavy) and counted again - 215 stitches. Great. Then I realized that I was on the wrong side and I wasn't in the pattern row, I should have been just knitting. (I had to mark the right side because it's not very obvious.) So I knit a row. 215 sts. I did row 1 of the pattern - 214 sts, 1 short.
This has happened over and over with this shawl. It's such an easy pattern, I don't understand why it's being such a problem for me. It is emphasizing something that I don't like about lace knitting though - it's very fussy. You can't really add or subtract stitches as needed the way you can with stockinette or ribbing etc. I have 30 more pattern rows to go (up to 275 stitches) and I really want to finish this.
The yarn is Riata from Brooks Farm Yarns - silk, wool and mohair in the Water Lilies colorway.
5 comments:
I found this interesting. I don't know much lace, but I find that you have to count for the first couple of pattern repeats, then you can 'read the pattern' in the lace itself. But I have to be relaxed and rested to knit lace - it's not something I can do in the evening after work. I made most of a lace scarf over my summer break - it's probably going to have to wait until next summer to be finished.
That should have been I don't *knit* much lace...
Every pattern row increases by 2 stitches. It's kind of hard for me to see the lace pattern because of the mohair which makes it sort of fuzzy. I can see it when I hold it up and stretch it out, but not when I'm working on it. However all this counting led me to a great discovery - I use earrings as markers. I make the kind with lever backs, and just hook it into the stitch and close it.
lace is definitely frustrating but once it's done, every stitch suddenly becomes worth it.
the yarn you've chosen is beautiful. :)
Funny, I had as much problems to knit that shawl even knowing that the pattern was easy. It was my first lace shawl. I think it's just that my attention span was short, too short for rows of 200+ stitches. Took a long time but I finished it and now am undertaking Kiri.
Post a Comment