Because I am definitely a goner--yesterday
afternoon, I picked up my giant ball of wool, and it got stuck in my
hands. Honestly, I was just going
to cast on, and....
And, well what happened is
this:
I could have stayed up
half the night, and finished the last few rounds of chart 1, but some semblance
of reason kicked in, and I finally put the knitting down (at about 1
AM). Gently stretched, this morning, it's about 8 inches across. And beginning to take shape.
Relatively speaking, it's
an easy lace. Each motif is symmetrical, and there are 10 repeats
per round—so, its easy to memorize—by repeat 3.
When I finish the first the first chart, I'll likely add a life line, but I don't think I'll really need one. Chart 2 is almost the same as chart 1. It's 2 R's longer (but then, the eye has 9 stitches (vs 5) and the extra rounds are 2 pair of double decreases.
(OK, the stem part is different, too, since the increases are spaced differently...but...)
And there are a MILLION feather tails in the second go round. Near as I can tell, 30 repeats. And even more repeats of chart 3 and more still in chart 4! I really like how the feathers increase every repeat—so like real peacocks tails. (Peacocks are naturalized at the Bronx Zoo—and while are not quite as common as squirrels, they are common enough—I seen real peacocks all my life--something you might not expect of a City girl.)
When I finish the first the first chart, I'll likely add a life line, but I don't think I'll really need one. Chart 2 is almost the same as chart 1. It's 2 R's longer (but then, the eye has 9 stitches (vs 5) and the extra rounds are 2 pair of double decreases.
(OK, the stem part is different, too, since the increases are spaced differently...but...)
And there are a MILLION feather tails in the second go round. Near as I can tell, 30 repeats. And even more repeats of chart 3 and more still in chart 4! I really like how the feathers increase every repeat—so like real peacocks tails. (Peacocks are naturalized at the Bronx Zoo—and while are not quite as common as squirrels, they are common enough—I seen real peacocks all my life--something you might not expect of a City girl.)
I've made 1 or 2
mistakes—and had to tink a dozen or so stitches—but for the most
part, the pattern makes sense to me, and it's easy to just knit. And
knit I did. It was so easy, the mistakes were early in the
process, (and still learning) not late (at night) when I was getting tired.
This
morning I checked out some other FO's of this project (to check to
see how many repeats of chart two there were) and found this
version..(that a Ravely link—and may not work if you are not on
Ravelry)
Hand
painted, after it was knit—and I think all my previous experiments
with dyeing were nature's way of making me ready to do this!
That version also has beads, and I had considered adding beads, too, but I am working with almost cobweb weight yarn, and thought beads might make it too heavy. Besides, I want the knitting to be the star. I am going to finish Chart 1 today, and then put it aside just long enough to finish the secret socks. I think I am going to have ration work on this shawl—It could easily take over my life!
That version also has beads, and I had considered adding beads, too, but I am working with almost cobweb weight yarn, and thought beads might make it too heavy. Besides, I want the knitting to be the star. I am going to finish Chart 1 today, and then put it aside just long enough to finish the secret socks. I think I am going to have ration work on this shawl—It could easily take over my life!
