Friday, September 14, 2007

I cannot tell a lie…

Okay, I lied…

Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie so much as a sin of omission.

My name is Robbyn and I joined a Knit-Along…

It all has to do with what I was ranting about on Monday - discipline, paying attention - being willing to learn something from someone else for a change :)

All the finished MS3s (Mystery Stole 3) are hitting blogdom and looking very lovely indeed - look here at Opal’s beautiful stole or here, at Kathleen’s masterpiece-in-the-making.  And I was looking at all these gorgeous stoles and thinking hmmmm...

When we were little, my folks used to take my brother and I on Mystery Rides.  We would be told to dress in particular clothes and then everyone would pile into the car.  We would try and guess what the destination was.  My folks never spilled the beans though, and we never knew where we were going until we got there.

Well, a mystery project is something like that, isn’t it?  You’re told what kind of yarn, needles, etc are recommended and what other extras you might need and then you get serial clues (chart segments, I gather) at intervals and work one after the other until the item is finished and the theme becomes clear.

So when I heard about this…

The Secret of the Stole, my fingers got itchy :) I thought about it for a while.  Here I am, a stubborn and independent middle-aged person who generally makes things up as she goes along, works to few rules but her own and has a lousy record of actually finishing things.  And I’m thinking about participating in something where the only choices I get to make are yarn and bead color?  I’m going to let someone take my hand and lead me into the dark?

Does this sound like a good idea?

Well, actually, it does - for many reasons some of which I can articulate and which you already know and some of which remain slightly fuzzy :)

Anyway - that’s what the beaded pieces were about :) Here they are again:

That last one is new and those are the beads I’m going to use on the stole.  They are clear, lined with a light sherry opalescence.  I know they’re a bit difficult to see in the photo (that’s why that photo is a little bigger than the others), but they are subtle enough not to scream and still have a quiet, shimmering presence.  The beads are “E” beads (about size 6) which would be a little bulky I think for lace weight, but which seem to work well with the fingering weight I’ll be using.  The swatches were made in the same yarn I’ll be using for the stole.  The first two were done on size 6 needles and the last on size 7s.  I’ll probably be using the 7s.

I did try some size 8 beads(smaller), a bronze and copper mix…

...but they seem to be a little overwhelmed by the yarn.  I think the bigger bead works better.  Also, while I could get the bead over the crochet hook (and obviously did), it was much more work than with the E beads - in fact I almost poked a hole in my thumb :)

So that’s what’s going on right now.  There is still plenty of time to join if you’re inclined that way - The actual project doesn’t start until October.

Chatters is on tomorrow night :) Hope to see you there!

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1. So, Robbyn… you might not have been sucked into the vortex of lace knitting, but apparently I have been!  :) I, too, signed up for the Secret of the Stole.

   What kind of yarn are you using?  You say fingering weight with Size 6 or 7 needle. All the fingering weight I see as I wander the web calls for needles sizes 1 - 3. I did see a Knit Picks pattern that calls for size 6 needle with the laceweight, so perhaps the larger needle just makes it lacier? 

   I want to use Fingering for this one, because the laceweight of the MS3 is enough laceweight for me this, and would prefer the larger needles… so I’m hunting.  Of course, the majority of fingering weight yarn I find is ‘variegated’ and that is not recommended!

   Posted by Kathleen  on  09/14  at  02:26 PM
   Location : MD



2. Kathleen - The way I see it is that if lace weight yarn was knit on needles to produce a solid fabric, you’d be using size 0000 needles.  But since a more open effect is usually desired, larger needles are used.

   So I figure if fingering weight generally stipulates a needle size of 1-3, then I’m going to start swatching with a size 5 to get the effect I want.  In this case, I think the size 7 will do the trick.  Check the Kimono scarf - that was knit with the same yarn I’ll be using for the stole on size 7s.  I think it works :)

   I’m using Knitpicks bare Peruvian Highland wool to knit with.  It’s a little rough, but the advantages are that it will look great - and I already have it :) Well, I do need another hank, but that’s all.  At first I thought I would dye it - but I think I like it as it is.  Cream is a great color for a shawl :)

   I do keep trying to work with lace weight yarn, but neither my hands nor my eyes seem to want to go along with that.  It’s just too fine for me to manage.  Which doesn’t mean that I have to pass on lace knitting - just that I need to do it on a slightly larger scale!

   Posted by Robbyn  on  09/14  at  03:15 PM
   Location : Puzzling about the universe - as usual :)



3. Oh you joiner you. ;-) I decided not to do another mystery stole since I have so many other projects that I left on the wayside during the MS3, but I’ll be happy to vicariously knit the Secret of the Stole with you!

   I think using the size 6 beads is an excellent choice. They really pop with the fingering weight yarn.

   Oh and thanks for the shout out! :-)

   Posted by Opal  on  09/14  at  05:12 PM
   Location : Honolulu, HI



4. Opal - I’m really not much of a joiner as a rule.  But you had said something about having to have faith with lace because you don’t know how it’s going to be until you’re finished, not just the knitting, but the dressing as well.

   And I realized I don’t have a lot of faith in my ability to follow instructions, do something new, believe that someone else might have a good idea - and especially my ability to finish what I’ve started.

   So, for a number of reasons, this seemed like a good idea for me - an exercise in faith that it’s a good pattern and that I can do it and it will come out well and a way to practice the discipline it will take to finish it - in less than a few years!

   Glad to have you looking over my shoulder :)
   

   Posted by Robbyn  on  09/14  at  07:00 PM
   Location : Puzzling about the universe - as usual :)



5. your namesake is in disgrace - she’s still banned from the goatshed because she’s being aggressive to the babies. Perfectly normal but I don’t like it.

   Posted by catsmum  on  09/14  at  07:56 PM
   Location : OZtralia



6. Susan - As you say it’s normal, I won’t worry :) But I wouldn’t like it either.  How even a jealous nanny (or is she in season and feeling edgy?) could be aggressive to those beautiful kids is beyond me!

   Posted by Robbyn  on  09/14  at  08:55 PM
   Location : Puzzling about the universe - as usual :)

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