Thursday, July 19, 2007

Signing in from Mississippi

I'm so glad this group was started. I began my Hanami a few weeks before the MS3 and ended up frogging half of Chart A and coming back to the Hanami until I received new yarn.

I have successfully mastered the beaded cast on (you only need less than 50 beads - that's the only beading on this stole listed.) And I've done five of the seven repeats of the basketweave section. I'll be picking it back up after MS3 and continuing on with all of y'all.

Plan on using stitch markers between the repeats and your life will be easier. I ordered mine from a vendor on Ebay or Etsy (forget which one) and got some that were long plastic wire loops with a wooden bead at the end. They are long enough and slightly stiff so they don't get tangled in the laceweight yarn. And they keep their shape well enough when I move them with my mouth sometimes. Don't laugh! You'll end up doing it too when the K2tog requires you to use a stitch from either side of the marker! :) (That only happens every 7 or 8 rows, I think.)

I'm using Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in the pink. It's beautiful! I found the Mill Hill Beads she recommended at Hobby Lobby in the NEEDLEWORK section (not the bead section) for only $1.37 and there are more than enough in one little package. You'll need that little bitty crochet hook for this one too.

Looking forward to knitting with y'all! Chanda in Mississippi

7 comments:

T. said...

Chanda - I love that you use y'all in your post!! THanks for the tips - will definitely stock up on stitch markers (and I have been known to move mine with my mouth too!).

J. said...

Chanda! I'm so glad you're here! We'll be asking you for your advice from time to time. And Helen's Lace! I'm so jealous. Is that a variegated colorway? T. and I were just talking about the use of variegated yarn in lace patterns at lunch. (I know. We're geeks.) I'd love to see a pic if you're up for it.

AnnieBee said...

I had to laugh about the moving-the-markers-with-the-mouth thing -- I thought I was the only one doing that! My stitch-markers are decidedly unglamourous and low-tech. I'm using plastic-coated paperclips! I have an unlimited supply, and each marker is a different colour, so I can identify where I am in the overall progress... Still, every time I take a picture of my Hanami-in-progress (I'm knitting one now, and another later, with the group) I take care to tuck all the paperclips to the back. Oh, the shame!

T. said...

Anniebee- what a gorgeous Hanami - I love the yarn (what is it??)

AnnieBee said...

Why thank you! It's the KnitPicks alpaca cloud in peppermint -- exactly what the pattern recommends. I don't have much access to good yarn locally, so I had to order online, and not having knit lace before, I wanted to work with something that I could be sure would work. I'm finding the KP very nice to work with, but I think I might try something different for my second Hanami. Silk, maybe?

Anonymous said...

It's not a varigated color. It's either pink blossom or pale pink - I can't find the ball band right now. One day soon I'll pull my camera out and try to stretch out the stole and take a shot to post. Haven't done that before so here's hoping it'll happen! Glad to know I'm not the only one moving stitch markers with my mouth!

BTW, I started MS3 with a variegated Helen's Lace and frogged it about 45 rows in. It just didn't look good in the pale colorway I was using - sherbert colors. The pattern just doesn't show up. Although I've seen some of the MS3 photos that use darker colorways and they are beautiful!

Oh, I wish I had someone to talk knit with at lunch! My only knitter friend at the office moved 6 months ago. Now I just sit in my car or at my desk and knit on a sock while flipping through websites or reading digests.

Lisa Dunn said...

(Waving wildly) Hi Chanda! I'm here now. :o) This is going to be lots of fun!

I wonder if your office is close to mine - maybe we could get together and knit sometimes. :o)