Pattern suggestions, please!

[inchainz]

Hi everyone!

I've been reading here for a while, & gotten a lot out of it, so thanks!

This week I made the trek from Portland, OR to Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival. In Ashland is a great shop called The Web-sters -- for knitters, spinners & all-around fiber-o-philes. And I couldn't keep myself from splurging. I now have two skeins of Kraemer Yarns Sterling Silk & Silver (fingering wt, ~840 yds total), and want to make something special with it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of a shawl, but I'm not the best at lace & I'm not married to that idea anyway.

Comments

[james]

A cowl and matching fingerless gloves.

[evilawyer]

I second this. A cowl, especially, would look beautiful in this color.

[inchainz]

Thanks! Any patterns in particular you'd recommend?

[evilawyer]

Ach! You would ask! There was a beautiful one I saw somewhere this past spring, and I was going to do it in an icy grey color, then my computer crashed and I lost all my bookmarks. Sorry! If I find it, I'll let you know.

[inchainz]

Sorry about your computer. That happened to me not too long ago too & it's really no fun to start from scratch like that.

I doubt I'll be making this decision anytime soon, so if you do see the pattern & think of it I'd love to see it.

[inchainz]

Thanks! I'll have to browse some cowl patterns on Ravelry. Do you have any favorites?

[james]

You can see a couple in my projects here:

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Zortified

I really like Nougat and the Darkside cowls, they were incredibly easy to make and ended up looking really fancy and nice.

[inchainz]

Oooh, pretty, thanks for the link!

Mind if I Friend you? I'm another "watch football & knit" person, & even though I'll never be able to do all the projects I fave I'm always looking for new ideas.

[james]

I don't mind. I don't do much with the friending option on Rav, but don't mind other folks friending me. :-)

[inchainz]

Thanks! :)

[nonniemous]

Personally, I think you should do Ishbel so you can SHARE MY PAIN! ;-)

That's the one thing we didn't get to in Vancouver, isn't it? No LYS. Dang.

[inchainz]

Right, I'm going to try something that's giving *you* fits. I had no idea you had a sadistic side! :)

Nope, no LYS in BC! :( They have plenty, maybe next time?

[nonniemous]

What? Wait, you had no idea I had a sadistic side? Just who have you been hanging with for the last few years?? >-P

I'm about to frog the damned Ishbel for the third time. But seriously, the biggest problem has been trying to knit in dark rooms and while there was way too much pretty on display up front.

Maybe next time, for sure.

[inchainz]

Okay, okay, no idea you had such a well-developed sadistic side?

No, that's not true either. :D

Maybe I'll try Ishbel with another yarn -- my stash overfloweth, y'know. We can do a KAL.

[tephra]

I'd head over to Ravelry and use the pattern search for fingering weight and the yardage and see what turns up. For instance, if you are of small to medium size you probably have enough for a cardigan or top, or a shrug if you are a bit larger. Myself, being of significantly larger than average size, I'd go for a lace shawl with that much yardage since the amount of shrug I could get out of it would look a bit silly on me (I don't have the figure for a cute little shrug).

[inchainz]

Yep, tried that but there are too many choices & I was overwhelmed. I'll go back to it, but advice from other knitters is always helpful. :)

I almost bought another skein or two, but couldn't quite justify THAT level of splurging even though this yarn would make a stunning Featherweight Cardigan. There's no way I'm getting more than a wrap of some kind or maybe a hat/gloves set out of just two skeins either, which is why I want the pattern to be really special.

[tephra]

Well if I were splurging... this shawl would be on my short list. :) I'm pretty fearless with lace knitting though, at least after I heard about lifelines. :D

[inchainz]

This one jumped out at me when I followed the link pinesandmaples posted below -- it's amazing. Maybe I'll have to jump in & give it a shot.

[pinesandmaples]

For something that special, I'd recommend any of Anne Hanson's lace patterns. She has beautiful, heirloom quality designs that range from entry-level lace to "should be knit in a silent room".

[inchainz]

OMG, those patterns are gorgeous! They all look pretty intricate, but I love the Pea Vines scarf. I may have to talk myself into trying it. :)

Have you made many of her designs?

[nonniemous]

Oooh, I've had her Alhambra in my favorites for a very long time. She's got some gorgeous stuff, for sure.

[pinesandmaples]

I LOVE that pattern. I have some cashmere set aside for it. I think I'll knit it on my anniversary trip next summer.

[pinesandmaples]

They all look pretty intricate, but I love the Pea Vines scarf.

A lot of her stuff looks more complicated than it is. I love that about Anne's designs; she picks stitch patterns that are short, straightforward repeats that really pop. The edge of that particular shawl has one motif, repeated over and over while the center has one motif spaced well.

Have you made many of her designs?

Rivolo, most recently:


I own several other patterns, and I've think they're on par with the lace stuff that Interweave puts in their magazines in terms of difficulty.

Why not try it? You can always go slow, make the yarn last, and enjoy yourself as you knit. I'm a firm believer that everyone can knit lace. Knit fearlessly!

[inchainz]

That's beautiful!

Thanks for the encouragement. I think I'm due for a little fearlessness, so I'm going to do it (because there is no try).