Friday, April 22, 2011

Beauty In Ashes

Spring is here and summer is fast approaching so I thought I'd work on something a little lighter than the thickest, warmest stuff I could possibly find (which is everything I've worked on this past 6 months or so. Let's face it, the East coast is FREEZING!)

I had one ball of Patons Lace yarn in my stash so I decided to try and come up with something to make out of it. The color is called "patina" and fades from charcoal to white and back to charcoal. With such variation in color I wanted the stitches to be very simple so the color and stitch work wouldn't be fighting to get your attention.













After searching about on ravelry.com and finding nothing particularly suited to my purposes I came up with this, the simplest lace pattern ever! Lace is just knitting where you purposely make holes so I decided to make a series of offset holes with a basic border and some garter stitch in between. This would be a great pattern for someone who is just beginning with lace knitting!





Here's the pattern I wrote if you'd like to give it a try!

Beauty In Ashes Shawl

Needle: size 11
Yarn: Patons Lace (patina), 1 skein
Gauge: not imperative to pattern

Abbreviations:
CO- cast on
k- knit
k2tog - knit two stitches together
p- purl
BO- bind off


CO 56 sts
Knit all stitches for 4 rows

Section 1:
Row 1- k 4, *yo, k2tog, k 2* repeat between *s until four sts remain, k 4
Row 2- k 4, p to last four sts, k 4
Row 3- k 4, *k2tog, k 2, yo* repeat between *s until four sts remain, k 4
Row 4 - repeat row 2

Repeat rows 1-4 three times (12 rows total)

Section 2:
knit 12 rows in garter stitch (knitting every row)

alternate sections 1 and 2 until you reach desired length (mine is 59in.), ending with section 1

knit 4 rows in garter stitch then BO all sts.

weave in ends.

To block:
I know blocking acrylic isn't necessary but I think it makes the piece look finished. DO NOT IRON! It will melt! I've found that if you wet the finished project and lightly press out the extra water with your hands then lay it out flat to dry in front of a fan you can achieve the desired result.














Have a fantastic Easter weekend everyone!

16 comments:

  1. Oh how I admire your knitting skills! You are looking lovely as always.

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  2. You can always try a good steam blocking. Don't iron it, but use the steam from the iron. Gently. There are quite a few tutorials on the net for it. It really works out nicely!

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  3. My husband steam blocked a piece in acrylic not to long ago and completely melted it :/ so I decided to try something a little different.

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  4. is it sz 11-3mm needles or sz 11 us sized needles? :) dying to get going on this!!

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  5. Yes it is size 11 US. Happy knitting!

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  6. Very pretty! Thank you for sharing!!

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  7. Thank you for sharing, I've just started knitting and this is a great pattern for me!! :)

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  8. I have been knitting for 15 months and am pretty pleased with my progress. I am making a lace scarf for my wife using the fan and feather lace pattern and it's coming along nicely. My 85-year-old mother lives in Florida and really doesn't have a need for most knitted products. Ironically, she does wear sweaters in the summer when she plays cards and goes to other gatherings in heavily A/C buildings. So, I thought your beautiful shawl might be a perfect gift for her. Would a light wool yarn, such as a superwash merino wool, be suitable for this as well? I'm impressed that a lace wrap of that size is just one skein. Also, do you uses interchangeable needles with a bit longer binding "wire" or do you use straight needles? Thanks for your help.
    Mark

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  9. Mark - I just made this shawl using a cotton, silk, wool blend. It is great and nicely lightweight. - Becky

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  10. hi id like it a bit wider so was thinking co 84 could i just carry on with the pattern apart from obv im gonna have ex stitches....ooo this is going to be a 1st wish me luck!!

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    1. Yes, that would work, the pattern repeat is 4 stitches, so if you wish to increase like do, doing it in groups of 4 will work.

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  11. This is JUST what I have been looking for!! I have several balls of Mohair that I inherited and have been looking for something that would be perfect for them. Thank you!!

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  12. Why would anyone want to buy replica Hermes, Rolex, Gucci, and Cartier?
    If you can't afford them, why try to make a fool out of yourself. You are the one, people are laughing at. It is so simple to tell if something is fake. Some are by how many stitches are on the handle. People know, but if you don't care, keep shopping.

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  13. What are the finished measurements of this shawl?

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