Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Lily of the Valley Shawl Finally Clicks


Three months ago, I purchased the Handmaiden Sea Silk in ivory. I mastered the provisional cast on, done for the first time; I easily knit the first border edging rows. Then, screech. You see, my lace knitting experience is limited to socks; I have never before attempted a shawl. I knit; I frogged. Repeat as nauseum. Many pairs of socks tempted me away as I occasionally glanced askance at the very little I had completed on the shawl, which is a gift for my mother, otherwise known as "The Meem." She picked it out herself. It was a substitution for the Hug-Me-Tight from Knit Two Together which, I am ashamed to say, was supposed to be a gift for, gulp, last Christmas. It defeated me. The gauge looked screwy; the pattern seemed cursed.

As I switched to the lovely Lily of the Valley shawl, I thought the curse was broken, then convinced myself it dwelled within me and my incompetence. Just this past weekend, however, as the Tour de France was ending and with it Harry Potter, the curse lifted and it all made sense to me. Use plenty of stitch markers; get yourself a pattern keeper from KnitPicks. Happily, I am making progress! My inner glee cannot be contained!

After posting a photo of the shawl to my own blog, pretendingtofarm.com, I got numerous compliments and much interest in joining the quest for lovely lilies. Finally, I am a knitter of lace. The only caveat? Alcohol and lace do not mix. When imbibing, just say no to lace!

6 comments:

Pensguys said...

VERY pretty!

Glad it is coming along well for you.

Anonymous said...

For my first real lace project, I did the Flower Basket Shawl (from Interweave Knits) with my heart in my throat! Started, stopped, started, stopped. As you said, with the use of lots of stitch markers, I finally made it through, and it came out great! Giving yourself the encouragement you need is half the battle - you can DO IT!

Mo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mo said...

Your shawl looks wonderful! Isn't it awesome when a pattern makes total sense. I'm glad you are enjoying the pattern, I am too!

btw said...

Your shawl is looking good! Did you buy 2 or 3 skeins of the Sea Silk? I'm planning to use the same yarn in "Spring". I think 2 skeins will be enough, but am panicked that it might not be.

CraftyGryphon said...

I'm doing the LOTV shawl, too - and will heed your "don't mix alcohol and lace" advice, for sure!