borders. No, not the bookstore. Knitted-on lace borders. You know how some people hate to do sleeves, or hate to sew sweater pieces together? I hate doing knitted-on borders.
They're not hard. I know how to do them. But there's something about going through all the work of knitting the body of a shawl, and then having to go on and knit a border onto it that just wears me out. I currently have two shawls* sitting and waiting for me to get back and finish knitting the borders. And then there's my current shawl:
This is a pattern I bought last year at SAFF. It's a lovely pattern, very fun to knit. And the yarn I'm using is really nice to knit with. It's Melody, a fingering/sock weight yarn from Jojosquare on Ebay. I'd been a little hesitant to order some of this yarn till I saw it in person, also at SAFF. It's nice yarn, crisp and easy to work with. And, as you can see, it's variegated, and it's variegated in ways that I like. But that border. It's 32 sts wide. You have to do 2 rows of pattern to eat up one st of the body of the shawl. And I finished the body with 569 (or something like that) sts. You do the math.
Here's a detail shot:
OTOH, I'm almost half-way around the body of the shawl, so I may make it to the end without pooping out.
If I make another shawl using this kind of yarn, I'll probably use a larger size needle, for a more open look. But his will be nice and warm and cozy. Wish I could use it now, since our heat has stopped working right before this cold snap.
Speaking of Jojosquare yarns, I splurged and bought some laceweight stuff:
I think this stuff is just gorgeous. But I have a weakness for yarns that shade like this. At almost 8000 ypp, it's pretty fine. I can't wait to use it. But I must.... stay.... strong... and... FINISH... current... PROJECT......arrrggghhhhh.....
Send good wishes.
*I may frog one of them, however.
OMG I cannot tell you how much I love that shawl! I can't wait to see it finished so please finish it before you start something else. (Notice I give no thought to you, only to my greedy little self wanting to see it!)
Can the pattern be purchased anywhere besides SAFF? How much yarn does it take? If you decide to sell your pattern after you're done with it, I call dibs!
Posted by: Restless Knitter | March 17, 2007 at 04:39 PM
Why did you include that link??? You know I love yarn with those kinds of color changes...
Posted by: Beth | March 17, 2007 at 06:14 PM
Love the shawl, love the yarn--I bought 2 skeins of it at SAFF and I'm not yet decided what to do with it.
I understand about the border, though. I ripped out a plain pi shawl because I just couldn't cope with knitting on that 17 stitch border...
Posted by: Anita | March 17, 2007 at 06:56 PM
That is an absolutely fabulous shawl! The colors are so pretty and I love the pattern. I'm not so much with the knitted on border either, although the first lace shawl I ever made had one. But I'd do it for your shawl!
Posted by: Jane | March 17, 2007 at 11:32 PM
Mmmm, that yarn is so beautiful. I'm really picky about variegates, but I just can't find fault with this one. The shawl looks really beautiful and I bet it'll look amazing once its blocked. Definitely worth the tedium.
Posted by: Marnie | March 18, 2007 at 12:11 PM
That yarn is gorgeous! I can't wait to see this finished product and what you do with the next batch. Such pretty colors!
Posted by: Carrie | March 19, 2007 at 01:04 PM
Knitted-on borders, the second sock of lace knitting. :) If you're almost halfway, it sounds like you have some momentum going, though! And it looks like it will be quite the beauty when it's all done...
Posted by: alice | March 19, 2007 at 03:59 PM
Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. I love it!
Posted by: jane | March 19, 2007 at 10:03 PM
All I can say is WOW!
Posted by: stephanie | March 20, 2007 at 09:36 AM
Thanks for sending me the link to the not-to-be-missed Peeps diorama at http://boingboing.net/images/wecomeinpeeps.jpg
"We Come In Peeps", indeed! Love it!
Thanks again!
Ian
Posted by: KOARC | March 21, 2007 at 10:51 AM
WOW!!! That shawl is GORGEOUS!!! I can understand the border aversion :-) Sending loads of good wishes - stay strong :-) Hope to see you at the library sometime soon!
Posted by: Claudia | March 21, 2007 at 01:28 PM
That is such a beautiful shawl. I hadn't known about that yarn. Sometimes borders go on and on. At least you have beautiful yarn to enjoy while you knit it. Glynda
Posted by: Glynda Black | March 22, 2007 at 10:28 AM
I love the idea of lace borders. But I'd like to make it even more interesting by turning the border into a lace ruffle. Have you done anything like this? I'm making a shrug in the old "Traveling Vines" pattern and would like to edge it with a few inches of ruffled lace that coordinates with the pattern. Any suggestions you (or anyone else) has would be appreciated. Thanks and happy knitting.
Posted by: Lois | March 25, 2007 at 06:48 PM
I don't suppose you have a link or directions on how to purchase this pattern, do you? I want to copy you!!! :-)
Posted by: danielle | June 28, 2007 at 09:01 AM