take a chance on lace...

it is not as hard as it looks.

lace is beautiful and delicate and intimidating to most knitters. but it really isn't that hard.

do you know how to knit and purl? can you make a yarn over? can you knit 2 together or ssk?

then you can knit most lace patterns. really!!!

i think most knitters are scared of lace weight yarn but you don't have to knit lace with lace weight. lace patterns come in all shapes, sizes and yarn weights. super bulky any one? how about a worsted weight cowl or shawl with yarn overs? or fingering weight for a delicate and elegant look?

if you want to try lace, look at these easy lace patterns.

the pattern must be wrong...

one thing we hear a lot is "this pattern is wrong." i even say that to myself from time to time. but i'm here to tell you - the pattern is rarely wrong. last week i was working on a pattern that i picked for the reywa bloom silk/yak blend yarn. it is a lace weight yarn and although we are featuring a pattern that used the yarn double, i wanted to try something single. so i searched ravelry and found a beautiful shawl pattern. it was not difficult lace. just a lot of yarn overs. it was a free pattern so if it didn't work out, nothing lost/nothing gained. it was charted. i love a chart.

i started knitting and it was going well until the second pattern repeat (about 14 rows in). the pattern told me to repeat the highlighted section of the chart in each repeat. i did this. and i had a extra stitch. i backed it out and tried again. still one extra stitch.

ok let's look at the other folks that have knitted this on ravelry. surely someone else has had this problem. nope, everyone loved the pattern. no problems. no complains. or if they did have an issue they are not posting it for the world to see.

so i rip my knitting out. start over. same thing. an extra stitch. ok maybe i'm supposed to knit that one other stitch. the one in between the 2 highlighted pattern sections. well that worked but now i don't have enough stitches. ugh! rip out. start over. again - extra stitch.

after about 7 attempts, i gave up. moving on to another pattern later. knitting is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. if you aren't having fun with a pattern... if you are not enjoying knitting a pattern... if you are not enjoying knitting with a particular yarn...

then move on. let it go. shake it off. it's ok. you have not failed. it just may not be your time for that pattern or that yarn. 

when to knit a sweater?

it might seem counter intuitive but the best time to start a sweater is now - spring! 

most people aren't going to knit a sweater in a month. most people are going to work on other project while they are working on the sweater. by starting now, you give yourself time to make sure your gauge is right and that you have time to really get the pattern right. 

so don't wait until october or november when we are all too busy to knitting anything.

here are some ideas for sweaters using the new yarn, mrs. crosby steamer trunk.