Rose Lace Stole

 It's been a long time since I've knitted lace. This is the Rose Lace Stole by Susanna IC from Interweave Knits Spring 2011.

I'm working with Araucania Chaiten, a silk fiber that has been hand-dyed. It has a dry hand, not much bounce, and a lovely, rough texture. I've been on a purple kick for much of the past year, so it's nice to see a little bit of turquoise creeping in.

The pattern is very straight-forward for most of the shawl: columns of stockinette interrupted by a line of eyelets. But the lace edging is making me cross-eyed. Not the fault of the designer: this is a very well-written pattern. Just that I'm spoiled by  symmetrical charts with a center stitch to orient me. This shawl is rectangular, and I'm having a hrad time getting my bearings in each row. (And I'd rather not use stitch markers, which always mess up my stitch count when I get the yarn-overs caught around them.)

And in the top picture: the best project bag ever: Blue Sky Alapaca's Pretty Cheep Bag (honest, that's what it's called). Perfect for stuffing a small project into your purse or backpack. I'd love to buy all six designs and frame them.

Comments

Elidia Fouto said…
What is No Stitch on the chart of the Rose Lace Stole?
Janet said…
The No Stitch means literally that: on the rows where you see it, the pattern has changed - probably in the number of stitches per repeat - so you stay with whatever it says to do. In other words, you do what it is in the white squares of the chart. I found that it helped me to follow the pattern by placing stitch markers between repeats - but the markers also have to be moved as the pattern develops. Hope that helps.