Sunday, May 04, 2008

Summer Lace

A few weeks ago I taught a class about lace designed for new lace knitters. Basically we used variations of Feather and Fan, different weight yarns, variable numbers of repeats to design whatever we wanted to knit.

Judy took to it instantly.
Carla and Judy concentrated and Carla has been to Charlotte Yarn recently to buy more yarn and knit more lace.
Dinah had some cobweb lace yarn burning a hole in her knit bag. We decided to double it to prevent insanity.

I had so much fun in this class that I immediately began to think about how I could do this again with more and different lace patterns. Remi and I spent several hours at Universal Yarn last week, and I was inspired. I haven't been a fan of their yarns in the past, but the new Fibra Natura line has some nice yarn. Remi contributed the yarn and I have designed a capelet that will serve as a sample for Charlotte Yarn.

The design is driven by the desire to teach a new lace class. I've chosen several laces and some other techniques which give me a wealth of topics to teach and will create something pretty. I'm still test knitting the pattern, but it will be done soon. Here's a look--
Yep, I started with the old F&F to get the scalloped edge. (The yarn bowl came from KnitWitch and is amazing.)

The yarn is Sea Song which is 80% cotton and 20% Seacell (Kelp fiber). The Seacell makes this cotton drape beautifully. I'm not sure how or even if it will block, but unblocked it looks good and feels great. I think I'll close it with a big blue ribbon. Maybe.

Anyway this designing so I can teach what I consider a great class is a bit different from my earlier designs. They have usually been to teach ME something.

2 comments:

Janet Richards said...

I love lace - I'm so glad you are teaching it to more people! :)

And I also love SeaSong - I agree - it is a really nice yarn. I'm suprised I don't see more of it in shops.

Anonymous said...

I took to lace so quickly due to my excellent teacher! I did finally buy some lace yarn while visiting Charleston this past weekend... a gargantuan hank of interlacements rick rack II. Wish me luck!