Knitting Lace....or..."LACE" is a four letter word!

Ok...soooo...this looks easy...my mom and I understand (or at least we think we do) the stitch pattern (easy?!) but we have started, restarted, restarted again (many times), changed needle sizes, made many, many swatches and we're ready to burn this project! It seems easy enough...knit a row, purl a row, then start the pattern of slipping the first stitch of each row and then YO, K2tog (P2tog on alternate rows). Simple, huh?! Well, we don't know if we're missing something, if it's the thin yarn, or what but it's not easy! The angle of the stitches on the previous row make it almost impossible to get the needle in to knit the next row, no matter how incredibly loose we knit. Because of this, it takes so incredibly long to knit a row that this project could take 10 years, at least, to complete!!! And...we found out why the pattern says that if you come out short on a row to just increase to add a stitch, or if it's too many on a row to just knit two together....if you try to go back it screws up the whole thing and we end up starting all over again (which both of us have done several times). Argh! We don't want this pattern to win but we need a break! If anyone has suggestions, we'd love to hear them. Thanks! As you can see....I've ripped mine out to start again.

In the meantime...we've gone on to some mindless projects. My mom is crocheting an afgan for charity and I'm working on this little scarf using leftover yarn from some socks I made last year. This lady doesn't seem very happy with her scarf. Hmmmm? I think it's cute though.

Lace!

Here it goes...my mom and I picked a pattern, got yarn and we started our lace shawls this afternoon. This will be the first lace I've ever knitted. Exciting and scarry! hee hee

Well, I couldn't resist...I started another project. It's one of the washcloths from the "Knitter's Stash" book, the basketweave one. But, for some odd reason, which I can't seem to figure out, everytime I go from knit to pearl it's leaving large stitches. I've never had this problem before. I'm not sure if it's the thread/yarn I'm using or what. I'll see my mom tonite and see if she can figure out the mystery (she's an amazing knitter, by the way). So, I stopped that project for now. I worked more this week on a bag I've been knitting with handspun yarn but I ran out of yarn and need to spin more. I'm planning to go to fiber night at Crochet Cafe but I don't know what I'm going to work on now. Maybe I'll shop for yarn. I found a gorgeous book yesterday that I couldn't resist buying...Victorian Lace Today. It's all lace shawls and such and they are rated by skill level. I looked at the ratings on Amazon last night and people say the patterns are easy and clear to read. I have one picked out to try. They are all stunning! Even if I never make any of them, the book is a joy to look at. But, I intend to try!!!

I finished the other striped sock last week. I had some problems near the end so I ended the project with some frustration but overall they turned out pretty good. The stripes on both socks match pretty well. I just had to add a couple more rows at the toe of the second one so it would have purple on the toe like the first one...so it's a little pointy compared to the other one but the colors match and it looks fine when it's on my foot. I'm on the hunt for another color of that yarn that I saw made into a sample at Black Sheep. Unfortunately, every yarn store I go into either doesn't carry that type of yarn, they're all out of it, or they only have one color and it's not the one I'm looking for. It was a beautiful combination of soft blue and green with a pretty taupe/tan. I can't believe I want to knit another pair of socks! I use to think that people who knitted socks were amazing knitters and that it was far beyond me to ever do that. I made my first pair last year and thought that was enough and that I could at least say I did it. (And, by the way....I'm far from an amazing knitter...I still feel like a beginner. I plan to attempt something lacy soon...maybe I'll feel a bit more advanced after that.) Then, I saw that striped yarn and had to make another pair. Now I think I've caught a sock knitter disease or something. I want to make so many different kinds and colors. I've been looking at various yarns and searching through patterns. I want to try a toe up version too. Soooooo much fun and just not enough time to play with sticks and strings. I'm trying to complete a couple of other projects before I start a new one. But, it's pretty hard. I have a feeling I won't make it and another project will be started verrrrry soon.