Seasons of Lace

Okay, I’m really new at this.  I’m used to posting on Ravelry and hoping this is the same sort of thing.

I’m looking forward to June 21 when I’ll cast on Evelyn Clark’s Southwest Shawl. Finished her Pacific Northwest Shawl last year (took 2+ years to spin the yarn and knit–but I didn’t have a KAL to encourage me)

The thing l love about lace is that I absolutely cannot think about anything else while I’m following a pattern. As a member of my tiny town’s city council, it’s a welcome respite from politics!

Right now I’ve got three lace WIPs to warm up with: a summer shawl with my hand spun merino, silk and angelina.  2. A cat’s paw pattern shawl (Spin Off called it Dog’s Paw, but it looks close enough…) with my hand spun alpaca and silk and 3. An Estonian lace pattern from Piecework made with my spun buffalo roving and plied with embroidery thread.  Maybe I should finish one of them?

Any other spinners out there?

Since I’m a good girl and always obey the rules, I’m going to play show and tell.  My fellow lace maven, Helen, has instructed me to post my lace WIP’s. Just in case you don’t know, I’m the crazy lady that decided to post all of her unfinished projects on her blog. I also started True Confessions: WIP Edition on ravelry. That wasn’t such a great idea.  Having all those unfinished projects staring me in the face wasn’t fun.

It wasn’t too hard to pull my lace projects, because most of them are on ravelry.  I have 10 lace projects going.  One is in danger of being frogged.  Because I don’t want to overwhelm the Seasons of Lace blog, I posted all of my projects on my blog instead.  Feel free to go over and take a look.  And if you decide to laugh at my stupidity for starting all that stuff, please do it quietly so you don’t hurt my feelings!!!!!  Actually,  laugh away.  I know what a hopeless case I am.

After you’ve looked at my mess, please come back and show us what lace projects you’re working on.  That will give us more ideas and make us less more patient until June 21.

I never knew some of these existed!

I am learning the stitches you need to know to be able to knit lace, and I messed, up, so I ripped it out and I am starting over on my swatch. It is horrible, because I forgot what to do! It frustrates me, and I just want to buy myself some pretty green or blue or purple lace and start knitting my North Sea Shawl! Does anyone else get as frustrated as me when they mess up? Because I can’t imagine anyone else getting as mad as me at the yarn. Can they? I do wish that I could start…

My sister frustrates me even more than my yarn though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe all those exclamation points weren’t needed, but I am frustrated. Alot. Alot!!!

Excuse me while I remember how to be mature and adult…….

I have started learning the need to know lace stitches. I love yarn over’s! they are really very cool! I simply cannot wait until I actually start my babushka. it will be so much fun to knittedy knit knit my way through the lovely blue yarn. *Sigh* I can’t wait to get started! But first I have to knittedy knit knit a swatch, and find out my gauge. and then buy the yarn. Yarn! The fuzzy soft woolyness…..Did write that out loud? Sorry! Anywho, I simply cannot wait!

I have only been knitting about 2 years and have done one lace project, a feather and fan lace shawl. So I am looking forward to this as a way to motivate me. I have ordered lots of lace in the last 2 weeks. I hope work doesn’t interfere with my knitting too much!

Carla

I’m so happy to have discovered the joys of Lace Knitting AND discovered the existence of Season of Lace all at the same time.  My first lace project is currently on the needles, and about halfway finished. I am knitting up Cheryl Niamath’s Wisp from the Summer 2007 Knitty. I’m using Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 2-ply, in the Ruby Slippers colorway. Click on the photo to see a big version of the piece in progress.

I’ve been knitting for over 30 years, but my hatred of blocking has prevented me from working beautiful lace patterns in laceweight or cobweb-weight yarn. I’m glad I finally got over my Blockophobia. Now I’ve registered for three different lace KALs, and the yarn stockpiling has begun!

I can’t take it any more.

This waiting for the official start date is just too hard . In fact, the Mavens and I are so eager to play that we’ve come up with some ideas for things for us all to do to gear up for the main event. Thus, we invite you to do (and blog about ) some Warm Up Knitting!

This week, my fellow Maven (quiltmomoffive) promises to lead off a parade of lace WIPs by showing us the many lace projects she has on her needles. I’m hoping she’ll also give us a guess or two about which ones she thinks she might finish before June 21. We hope you’ll join the fun by showing off what you’ve got on the needles.

I figure current WIPs count as Warm Up Knitting. And if you don’t think you can finish the current WIP, (and it’s less than 40% done now) consider setting it aside to work on during the official season, and starting a small lace project to Warm UP with (perhaps a fun scarf?). I certainly plan on doing some WARM UP knitting! And I hope you’ll all do some Warm Up Knitting with me!

Now… it is true that this warm up knitting does not qualify for any of the Summer of Lace prizes. It can only count for raffles if you don’t get further than about 40% done by June 21, but.. . depending on the state of the prize box on June 21, participating and blogging about your warm-ups MIGHT just qualify you for a chance at a Warm Up Raffle!

What am I warming up with?

Well, of course, there is Boing!

I started Boing! right about the same time the Mavens and I started plotting this KAL. I’m hoping to finish her before the official Season starts. So I’m not sure whether to call this a true SoL Warm Up project, or to call it a WIP Warm Up. Either way, I’m warming up with it… and you’ll be seeing more of it in the next 4 weeks.

There are a couple of other lace bits lurking in the knitting bag. Irtfa’a will go along at its slow and steady pace, since Elizabeth and I are working it together — when we’re together. We’re about 23% done, give or take, and recognizing that the Shawl Percentage Calculator is meant for triangle shawls without perpendicular edgings, and this is a faorese shawl with a perpendicular edging. I think that this will get some knitting done… but that we’re likely to keep it slow so that this one counts for the Big Raffles…(well, okay, so hers counts for the big raffles.)

But Weeping Willow, another WIP Warmup piece, is nearing the end (at last).

There is one more section to go, and it’s narrower by a lot than the previous section (though it will have LOTS of beads in it). I’ve gotten the markers set (but I wish I’d used a different — those spirally ones really can shift around with yarn this fine. I really ought to pop on hover to Hide & Sheep and take advantage of our SoL discount to get some new (and lovely) ones). That will be a good tertiary warm up. I’d like to have it finished by August, so why not set the goal of finished by June 21??

For my truly new, just for SoL Warm Up project, I think it’s time to cast on for the Icarus for which JustJoan sent me the yarn. It’s part of the last round of Knitting with Nora, and I’ve been too busy setting up Seasons of Lace to get going. I’ve got a lot of knitting to do pretty quickly here, so that should get me geared up for knitting lots of lace!

What are you doing for YOUR warm up projects! Comments are great — but we’ll want to see pictures!! so you should post a full description too! When you do post, be sure to select the Warming Up category so your posts can qualify you for a Warm Up Raffle (assuming we can rustle up a prize for it).

Hi, I’m Kristina AKA Grandma Kiss.  I have been a lone knitter for years and years (and years, and years, and years and…… I’m OLD), I have never been in a knitting group and this sounds like fun.  I am a prolific lace knitter and have approximatly one gazillion lace shawls that I seldom wear but love to fondle.  I hope to complete 3 projects this summer: Heere Be Dragons, Estonian Potpourri, and Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery shawl, I’ll probably add some lace socks ‘cuz I’m in the summer of socks too.

I live in the California high desert just outside of Death Valley.  Have been a SAHM for the last 27 years, but with my youngest graduating from High School next week I’ll need to start redefining myself.  I spend a good portion of my life avoiding the news and fretting about my son, a sodier serving in Iraq, and my daughters, one too young and too serious with her boyfried, the other raising 4 children under age 5 and too far away.  I can worry about anything at anytime and am willing to take commissions, I’ll worry for you so you don’t have to.  (Perhaps that can be my new career now that SAHM is almost over).

I’m so happy to have found Seasons of Lace. I have finished one lace project–Branching Out from Knitty.com.  I have knit 3/4 of Evelyn Clark’s Leaf Lace Shawl, and I just have to finish the toe of a Monkey Sock, and get started on the other. I would like to use this opportunity to knit with real lace weight yarn. I haven’t yet decided on a project, or on the yarn. But Seasons of Lace has motivated me!

I, shdwknitter, have decided to knit a babushka. The said babushka  will be blue, as that is my favorite color. This babushka will be my best finished product ever, and I am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I am good at free-for all knitting, where i jump in with yarn and needles, and knit knit knit, and voila! a finished product! Well, I can’t do that this time, seeing as I have no clue how babushkas are made. I shall have to steel myself and follow the pattern with the explicit directions. *Sigh*