Saturday, March 31, 2007

First Lace Project

For the past week, I have been happily knitting along my 1st lace project - the Swallowtail Shawl - the 1st few rows were hard going as I was doing what I used to do - knit & watch TV & it was one of my favorites - Grey's Anatomy. There was no way I could keep track of my yo, k2tog, psso, ssk - it was a mess & I had to rip it all out & after the 3rd attempt & after Grey's - I managed to get the rhythm going - once I achieved that, the next few nights were smooth sailing (oops knitting) & here it is (after 10 repeats of the pattern) .....

Not a very clear picture as the yarn is a deep red (Cherries) - it's a 4ply merino & I am using 4.5mm needles. Maybe this will be clearer .....

I really enjoy knitting this shawl as the pattern repeats are easy to remember & the yarn is soft & lovely (love the color!) but what makes it really great is that I am now knitting with my new Knit Picks needles which Helen kindly delivered personally yesterday. The needles are so..... smooth & the ends are slim & sharp (great for psso). I started the shawl on Clover bamboo circulars & it was a bit hard going as the yarn was not sliding smoothly on the bamboo.

I have heard so much about these needles & now I really understand why everyone is singing praises about them. They are as smooth as the Addis but Knit Pick ends are slimmer & sharper. Take a look & the needles & cords come in a handy case ......

Now that I have the right equipment & lace knitting is quite fun (I heard that blocking is the magic event in the grand finale) & Victorian Lace is on the way..... I will be knitting more lace in the future. But I do miss my sock knitting .... maybe .... lace & socks could be a nice combination !

8 comments:

2paw said...

The Shawl is looking stunning!! The colour is beautiful!! I was knitting with some bamboo Clovers too, and they were not lace appropriate!! I agree!!!

tiennieknits said...

Beautiful shawl so far! Glad you're liking your Knitpicks!

Roseann said...

The colors in your Swallowtail Shawl are sooo pretty! What a beautiful pattern. I often have rough starts with lace, too. I appreciate your review of the Knit Picks needles, very helpful. You will love Victorian Lace Today.

pinky-yin said...

yay... socks and lace :)))

Linda said...

Your shawl is beautiful :-)

Sharon said...

That is so beautiful and yes if you might remember I quite often mention my easy peasy tv watching knitting and my no noise no distraction knitting which is definately lace!

I am debating about getting some knitpicks needles, they sure look great.

Holly said...

Oooh-I love the variation in that yarn! I have one Knitpicks' circ so far-they're awesome!

Cecilia said...

Your shawl is going to be going to be gorgeous. I love that pattern, and your yarn is beautiful. I also LOVE my knitpicks needles. They do make lace knitting (and all other knitting for that matter) so much more fun.