They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so this time I’m obviously well on the way, since I had excellent intentions of showing more knitting when it was finished.
Well, it is! Finished, that is! Look…
This is the Rose Lace Stole by Susanna IC from the Spring 2011 issue of Interweave Knits magazine, knit in a luscious strawberry pink Malabrigo lace yarn that is sensationally soft and wonderful to knit with (indicating past experience, you may think – and you’d be right!) and which will be more than just a pleasure to wear this winter, as well as looking mighty pretty!
Lace is rather amazing like that, anyway. Skinny yarn, medium needles and a pile of scrunched-looking knitting rises from the ashes, a bit of a blob with uneven yarnovers and wobbly lines, not much definition and certainly relatively unimpressive… And then the magic of blocking happens and the slightly whiffy damp wool gets pinned into place and stretched into order, bringing out the motifs, evening the gauge and aligning everything into its proper place – and hey presto! Smooth, even lace stitches and crisp edges, with the knitted images (in this case rosebuds!) brought into clear focus and there is no avoiding spending a good deal of time oohing and aahing over the final product once it’s unpinned and in all its glory:
The Little Wash-House 
Wil you knit me some curtains, too?
Hahahahahahahahaha……… er, no??!! x
My mother knitted Shetland baby shawls which could be passed through a wedding ring they were so fine. You brought back such lovely memories by sharing your beautiful knitting – thank you!
How lovely they must have been – it’s not easy to actually get such fine yarn these days, but one day, I’d love to try making one! Thanks for passing on your memory!
Blocking is truely the magic wand of knitting. I refuse to show off my lace before I block it, non-knitters just don’t GET it!
It’s gorgeous! Well worth the time and effort -a beautiful result.
It is absolutely beautiful – I may have to sit down one day and knit again. But I still don’t have the pattern for the pot holders ( one of you beginning blogs). I waited 3 months to get the magazine only to discover that it’s the wrong edition… makes me question if the planets are not in allignement right now…
How disappointing – hang on, I can email you the link direct (I think)…!
Oh Mel, you are soooo clever – it’s GORGEOUS!!! I have just started my very first bit of lace – with the lovely yarn you gave me – I’ve had to pull it out twice, but I think I’ve got the hang of it now!!