I believe I promised to be back later this week with a summary of my plans for fall knitting. As it is now about as close to the end of the week as I can get and still be in the same week, Iād better hop to it!
The three-word summary: autumn = lace.
Of course, Iāll be working on some non-lace knitting as well ā if nothing else, I want to finish my braided pullover. But with Seasons of Lace in full swing for the fall, I have eyes-bigger-than-my freetime plans for lace knitting.
First up, Lerwick Lace Shawl (Ravelry link). I started this at the end of May thinking it would be the perfect summer knitting ā lightweight enough not to stick to my hands during the hot summer weather and complex enough to hold my attention. As it turned out, we had very little hot summer weather (one of the coolest Julyās on record) and my attention was distracted by the much less complicated braided pullover. So this has been languishing in the first half of the edging. I picked it up again last night, though, and added another four points, so maybe I can get on a roll and finish the edging before the fallās out.
Next, a very old UFO. I did some project organizing last spring, finishing up some, frogging and reassigning yarn on others, and delegating others to the āfinish-it-soonā pile. (Iāve been on this big organizational kick lately. Iām almost surprised I havenāt purchased some containers to sort my smallish sized stash by yarn content and color family. Hmmā¦.) Anyway, towards the bottom of the pile was a project that I started as part of a mystery stole project, two years ago. Turns out, I donāt follow along with mystery projects very well. It might have actually headed for the frog pond if I hadnāt seen a finished version of the shawl at the Great Lakes Fiber Show this spring. The pattern is Swan Lake by Melanie Gibbons, and Iām using Suri Elegance (Alpaca Yarn Co.) with some variegated blue-purple beads.
I didnāt like my gauge on the project (not to mention that itās been so long, I think my tension may have changed), so I did frog it for a restart. I washed, dried, and rewound the yarn and spent an evening knitting in July before the aforementioned sweater distraction. In the past two weeks, Iāve managed to finish Chart B, and I think this will be a nice fall project for when I have the time to fuss with adding beads. (Iām good at dropping them, soā¦)
Of course, what fun would fall lace knitting be without some new projects? (Easily distracted by shinny new lace projectsā¦.) The first of the new projects is Rose by Susan Pandorf (Sunflower Designs). Iāve purchased several of her patterns, including all of the Garden Variety designs, but this is the first Iāve tried to knit. Although the pattern calls for copious amounts of beads, I think the lines of the design are strong enough that they arenāt necessary, so Iām opting to knit without any beads. I could, however, be setting myself up for a nice little UFO, as I decided this would be a nice summer stole of linen yarn (knitting it in the fall, I make tons of sense). I think the yarn works perfectly well with the pattern, but my hands arenāt quite as enthusiastic. Theyāve been spoiled by nice soft merinos and cashmere-silk blends.
So far, I’ve managed to complete two gauge swatches (blocked, even!) and the first four rows of the actual stole. The picture above represents the swatch at the needle size I’m using.
Finally, THE fall project. Assuming I can find a gauge I like. I bought this yarn in the spring, knowing it would make for a perfect autumn knit, with its reddish and coppery tones. The yarn is Briar Rose Angel Face, and is absolutely lovely. I also knew immediately that I wanted to knit Aeolian with it. There was a knit-along over the summer for Aeolian, but this yarn had to wait for the fall, so Iām just getting started swatching. Based on an initial swatch start, it may be a bit lighter weight than the yarn called for, but I was planning on making the largest size anyway, and as Iām on the short side (OK, downright short), I think it will work out ok.
So, my plans for the fall. Over ambitious much? Guess Iād better get to knittingā¦.
a little fuzzy 