To "art kane"

I've just read your comment on my post dated 2nd July, I'm so sorry I missed it until now! Our next meeting in the Lamb is on August 7th at 7pm; we have all ages and abilities there and you'll be most welcome to join us. If you need any more information either leave me another comment (I promise to keep up to date!) or go to the ktog website here. Look forward to meeting you soon.

This is the first half of the cobweb lace stole which I cast on about two weeks ago. The stitch patterns in this are gorgeous, and there's a lot going on to keep it interesting. I don't follow charts very well, I lose my place easily, so to avoid the dreaded ripping back which I've been having so much trouble with of late, I'm translating the chart into a written pattern. Not so bad as it sounds - some bits of the chart are easy to follow, the rest can be written out in fairly short blocks and it's well worth the trouble. The yarn is hipknits cashmere lace weight; I think it's finer than the original yarn used, and thus the stole will be narrower, but that's ok.
I have a confession to make - I've succumbed to start-itis and cast on for a sweater as a bit of light relief from the intensity of the stole. My reasoning is sound (or so I keep telling myself!) - I could never work on the stole at a ktog, so I need something else to take along that I can work on and talk/drink at the same time. No photos yet, unfortunately.

In the absence of a suitable human candidate, a rather large cuddly horse made a good stand in model for the lace weight shawl I made for my youngest daughter! He didn't complain, as teenage daughters often do, nor did he move very far, just very obligingly stayed eaxctly where I put him and kept quiet!
The colour has come out worringly orange though. It's more of a vibrant mix of rainbow shades; I must learn how to use Mr.Diviknitty's posh camera but at least you can see how many times horse wrapped it around his ample neck!
So, a nice ripple stitch edging, Rosie, with a simple diagonal lace for the main body.I knit the two ripple edges first, put one piece on a holder, then knit the main panel until I ran out of yarn, and grafted the two pieces together.
I've started the cobweb lace stole (scroll down) which I'll post about soon.

Thank Goodness for Ravelry!

Before casting on for the cobweb stole (scroll down) a little voice at the back of my mind told me to see if anyone on Ravelry was making it. I found out that there's a mistake in the materials section of the pattern; the magazine states 230m per ball (7balls=1610m) but it should read 169m per ball. That's a big difference, meaning that the stole takes only 1183m, and I have more than enough hipknits cashmere (1500m) to make it without having to skimp on size. In fact, I might even make it longer; as a winter scarf it'll keep out those chilly fenland winds!
I should finish the lace weight scarf I'm making for my daughter during the coming weekend of much Wimbledon watching, so hopefully I can get started on the cobweb stole soon. I'm actually sticking to my one-project-at-a-time strategy without getting bored. I try to practise the art of mindful knitting, not always possible, especially when keeping up with a tennis match, but I do find it keeps me focused and helps me to avoid start-itis.