I am making good progress on the Roseleaves Tunic– Meg Swansen’s design from A Gathering of Lace. I haven’t knit lace in awhile. It’s fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I briefly thought about re-doing the charts into JC Briars’ “Stitch Maps”.  This is an amazing new system that makes the chart looks like the actual lace will look, and I have been wanting to try it.  But, I was impatient to get started, and I am not at home.  Next time!  I am using my new Knitting Abacus.  How, how, HOW did I ever knit without this thing?  Right now, I glance at my wrist and know that when I get back to knitting, I will start with Row 38.  No more worrying about a cat knocking off a post-it note!  I am in love.

 

Also, I have found that putting a marker after every repeat is very helpful with this pattern. Sometimes extra markers get in the way, but here they have been very helpful.  The Dye For Me Suri Alpaca Glow yarn has been interesting to work with.  It is mostly Suri Alpaca, and only 5% Stellina (the glow part).  But that little bit of metallic makes it surprisingly crinkly, which gives the garter stitch lace a lot of texture.  We will see how it blocks out, but I like the crinkle – so I may not stretch it as much as I usually do.

A bit of news on the Book front (who am I kidding, this is Big News!) – I am placing an ad for the Book in the Deep Fall edition of Knitty, which will be coming out very shortly.  I am very nervous about this, because this will be the first time that I have put any hint of book projects on the Internet!  The ad will link to a new page on this site which will show more teasers for the book, the full title, and a place for people to sign up for an e-mail list.  This will be so that I can notify folks about progress along the way.  The Book is done, but production is a long and involved process.  I would like a way to keep those of you who have been patiently waiting, in the loop! So, I hope that you will check back, sign up, and leave a comment.  This book is for all of you, and I want it to reflect what you need and want as much as I possibly can!