It's Done and so am I

I've finished the Lace Ribbon Wrap for the Mosaic Maniacs KAL... Whoo Hoo! The last stitch was stitched on May 27...today is June 3rd. Yeah alot of a lag in completion time and write up, but the other part of my life kept interrupting me. I knitted until I had about 1 gram of yarn left...worked out so well it was almost like I planned it. I stopped right at the end of the 24th row of the pattern with enought yarn to knit 2 rows plain. Perfect! I figured I could go on for a few more rows, but what was the point? The patterning would have looked all wonky ending on any other row so I'm done. Did I mention how pleased I am with the result?

Very happy...so happy that I was able to get a decent length with the one skein of Blue Heron Merc. Egyptian Cotton. That worried me a little as the ball got smaller and smaller, but the length was nowhere long enough for my taste. In the end after it was blocked I have a decent sized wrap...or scarf if I choose to double up the width.

The Details:

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery

Yarn: Blue Heron Merc. Egyptian Cotton

Needles: Clover Bamboo, size 3, 24" circular

Size: Blocked- 23" wide, 72" length

Modifications: Cast on 116 sts. was the only modification and knitted until I was almost out of yarn

18 Repeats and Still Going

I have now completed a total of 18 pattern repeats on my Lace Ribbon Wrap and still have a good bit of yarn left. My plan is to continue knitting until I've used all the Blue Heron. I see no good reason to stop until then. The wrap is now 58 inches unblocked and I'm hoping to get another 12 inches or more out of what I have left. This last bit of yarn doesn't seem to getting any smaller...my DH keeps asking if I'm knitting because the yarn doesn't appear to be getting any smaller.

I still have no idea how many more repeats it will take to finish, but I'm still enjoying the knitting on this project. This should be done by the Purl Jam Event next month. I cannot wait to see everyone else's scarves/wraps...the Mosaic Maniacs should be a site to see if everyone can get them done for the big event.

"I don't understand Lace Knitting"

Yep, my DH said to me last night that very thing..."I don't understand lace knitting." At the time I was fussing a bit about a stupid error I'd made in my Lace Ribbin "wrap". He went on to say that he thought it was "interesting" just why would you want to knit it? I laughed because I really have no idea why I find lace so fun, yes I said fun to knit. Maybe it's the fact you have to pay attention and keep focused on your knitting. Let's face it I do enjoy that piece of the puzzle because I'm a totally obsessed knitter. A project gets into my head and I cannot put it down until it's complete. The lace has been that way for me the last few months. First, it was Laura of Dragonwing Arts Summer Radiance Shawl that I completed in March, now it's the Lace Ribbon. My other projects are suffering from neglect.

There are a few other reasons. I love to watch how the simple act of a yo becomes this complicated looking twist in my current project. When I've messed up and dropped a yo I've tried to recreate the twist 2 rows down...does not look right, but is it oh so simple when you remember to just wrap a loop and on the next row knit or purl it.

Lace has taught me a few things along the way. The first is to use a life line if you don't want to pull your hair out with a major error full of lost yarnovers. I've become much better at both "reading my knitting" and using charts to knit. When I first starting knitting I figured no way would I be able to read a knitting chart...too complicated looking, symbols to remember, etc. Now I adore using charts vs written instructions. I now prefer the charts, but will read through the written directions for anything that may not be clear on the charts. Why do some designers use a chart, but write extra instructions buried in the written? Drives me crazy...then I am a bit.

Boring...No Way!

Still knitting my evenings away on the Lace Ribbon "Wrap" that I've been involved with since the April 19th knit off with the Mosaic Maniacs from Raverly. I'm getting through the repeats faster as I go...can now knit through a whole pattern repeat (24 rows) before bedtime. If I make bedtime after 11:30 PM...I'm usually so close to finishing that I stay up past my usual time so it can be finished.

Today I weighed the yarn to see how much further it will go...about half way or so at the moment. Out of a total weight of 227 grams I still have one unused ball of about 84 grams, working ball of 50 grams and 93 grams of knitted yarn. So all that checking on how much yarn is left to knit means is that I think I will have enough yarn to get this to a minimum of 60"...maybe. It's now measuring out to about 26 inches unblocked.

Loving how this is coming along so far...I've been able to catch errors pretty quickly without ripping out or even tinking back. Yeah, I know that the Knitting Gods are going to smite me down any day now, but I'm feeling pretty happy about this project. I'd like to get this thing done in the next couple of weeks so I can start on a few summer tops. Finding it difficult to focus on those with the KAL going on too...pressure is a good thing in one's life right?

Still Knitting...Always

Still knitting away on the Lace Ribbon Scarf for the Mosaic Maniacs KAL project...love, love love it! A total of 4 pattern repeats and still going strong. I seem to be averaging one pattern repeat a evening (24 rows) which considering how big I've modified the "scarf" is a good thing. The wrap is 116 stitches wide so I have 12 sets of the pattern going on. Amazingly fast I think to be this far along...helps that I've had some time during the day to knit this week. The all day rains and waiting for Verizon to set up our new service has aided in getting so much completed.

Next week will be a different story with the pretty weather I have several outdoor projects that will start up. Let's hope I'm able to knit during the evening. I'm also still playing with swatches for a couple of tank tops that I should start soon. My gauge has been awful...don't have a clue as to why that is. I may throw caution to the wind and knit as I have done before and cast on anyway. The Etrusca tank is on hold for a few weeks to allow for anymore pattern errors to show up. Angela emailed me with one this past week so I think I'll hold off for another couple of weeks before starting this one.

Progress

I'm making good progress on the Lace Ribbon Scarf (wrap in my case) that I'm doing as part of the Mosaic Maniacs KAL. I have modified the cast on from 53 sts. up to 108 stitches so that it will be wide enough to use as a wrap. At least it looks wide enough on the needles...so now I only have to worry if I'll have enough yarn for a nice length wrap. I have a backup plan if the worse happens...either buy more Blue Heron Egyptian Merc. Cotton or use my leftover stash of Handmaiden Sea Silk in Storm to edge both ends.

So far I've completed the 2 pattern repeats the KAL Moderator suggested we have done by the end of this week. My hope is to be several repeats into the wrap by the weekend. The pattern has been very easy to memorize and read as I work so it's going pretty quickly. I have not used a lifeline yet, but probably should add one now...better safe than sorry.

Stash Busting...1 Year Later

I selected the yarn to use for the Mosaic Maniac's Lace Ribbon KAL...Blue Heron's Egyptian Mercenized Cotton...now there's a mouthful.

I bought this yarn over a year ago at Mosaic so this was a no brainer. I've been debating for the last few weeks what to do with it. I pulled it out and sit it on my desk to contemplate my choices...Mystic Lace Mystery KAL, Clapotis, or my own made up pattern. I decided that this was perfect for the pattern. Tonight I think I'll try to swatch a bit and see which needle gives the best look to the stitches.

I may even go nuts with the pattern and switch it up a bit by making it more wrap like than scarf. I have 1000 yds of yarn so I think I have enough to widen the scarf by casting on double the stitch count and knitting more repeats until I run out of yarn. Math may need to be used to figure this one out...oh no. More to come on this project which is to be cast on this Saturday.