So a few weeks ago one of my good friends from college calls me (from India) to tell me she is getting married in six weeks. I had promised that I would come to her wedding so I racked my brain to figure out how I could make a trip work given the cost and that I just started a new job and have no vacation time. Well long story short we found a way although we will not get to stay a very long time. I am dissappointed that we won't be there longer but I guess that gives us reason to go back. So in order to make my life harder--something I excel at--I decided that instead of money what my friend needed for a wedding gift was a knitted lace scarf. I have never knitted lace so that posed problem one. Luckily one of my knitting friends is a pro and gave me some advice and went yarn shopping with me. This scarf was quite the drama. I picked the Japanese Feather Scarf which I think is a beautiful pattern and several people commented on ravelry that it is a good beginner lace project. I picked out some beautiful wine colored lace weight yarn (malabrigo velvet grapes) and got to work. I used US 7 needles since those were the needles I had with the best tips for knitting lace. It took me nearly half an hour to knit the first two rows but then I got into the swing of it. I used a "life line" which luckily I only needed to use once but having it in place gave me peace of mind. The first drama came as the scarf was being knit it entered the "ramen noodle" stage, which is
where your knitting does not look like pretty lace but rather a sloppy pile of noodles (pictured above). I started to get worried. The color also seemed wrong. I realized I had never seen my friend wear purple, even a wine color. The yarn was also variegated which I realized the pattern doesn't need because the lace sets if off on its own. I started to worry that it would not be a wedding worthy present. My knitting friend assured me it would block beautifully. I worked on the scarf at my admin job when we weren't busy and on my lunch break at the hospital in order to finish. I had to do several more pattern repeats than the pattern called for in order to get the right length. Earlier this week I finally finished. I blocked it out and waited for this so called magical lace blocking to take effect. I have to say it was a pretty magical process. The scarf stretched out (pictured to the left) and you could see the lace pattern and it stayed even after I removed the pins. I do still wish I would have picked a solid color--just not sure this color will work with my friend's wardrobe. Unfortunately it is too late to make her a different one so it will have to do. I am hoping she will appreciate the fact that it was my first lace project--it really is a beautiful pattern and the malabrigo is a merino wool so it is incredibly soft. I think I will probably make more of this pattern, but in a solid color.
So a few weeks ago one of my good friends from college calls me (from India) to tell me she is getting married in six weeks. I had promised that I would come to her wedding so I racked my brain to figure out how I could make a trip work given the cost and that I just started a new job and have no vacation time. Well long story short we found a way although we will not get to stay a very long time. I am dissappointed that we won't be there longer but I guess that gives us reason to go back. So in order to make my life harder--something I excel at--I decided that instead of money what my friend needed for a wedding gift was a knitted lace scarf. I have never knitted lace so that posed problem one. Luckily one of my knitting friends is a pro and gave me some advice and went yarn shopping with me. This scarf was quite the drama. I picked the Japanese Feather Scarf which I think is a beautiful pattern and several people commented on ravelry that it is a good beginner lace project. I picked out some beautiful wine colored lace weight yarn (malabrigo velvet grapes) and got to work. I used US 7 needles since those were the needles I had with the best tips for knitting lace. It took me nearly half an hour to knit the first two rows but then I got into the swing of it. I used a "life line" which luckily I only needed to use once but having it in place gave me peace of mind. The first drama came as the scarf was being knit it entered the "ramen noodle" stage, which is 
where your knitting does not look like pretty lace but rather a sloppy pile of noodles (pictured above). I started to get worried. The color also seemed wrong. I realized I had never seen my friend wear purple, even a wine color. The yarn was also variegated which I realized the pattern doesn't need because the lace sets if off on its own. I started to worry that it would not be a wedding worthy present. My knitting friend assured me it would block beautifully. I worked on the scarf at my admin job when we weren't busy and on my lunch break at the hospital in order to finish. I had to do several more pattern repeats than the pattern called for in order to get the right length. Earlier this week I finally finished. I blocked it out and waited for this so called magical lace blocking to take effect. I have to say it was a pretty magical process. The scarf stretched out (pictured to the left) and you could see the lace pattern and it stayed even after I removed the pins. I do still wish I would have picked a solid color--just not sure this color will work with my friend's wardrobe. Unfortunately it is too late to make her a different one so it will have to do. I am hoping she will appreciate the fact that it was my first lace project--it really is a beautiful pattern and the malabrigo is a merino wool so it is incredibly soft. I think I will probably make more of this pattern, but in a solid color.
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