Sweetness and Light

I needed a wee project.  

Stuck on another shawl with a problematic edging, wanting to start another Shetland piece but not having made decisions about it yet, and just flat out not wanting to knit anything other than lace....I needed something to fill my hands and my mind while I thought for a bit.

I know I'd seen this pattern before, but it had never called to me.

I stumbled on it again after finding the designer's blog during my search for more information on the Outlander shawl, which she was in process of developing a pattern for.  I became curious about her other designs, and fell head over heals for this piece.

I needed a wee project....

....but I didn't really want to spend any money on it.

Fortunately, I had a half skein of silk laceweight leftover from anther project....and just the right beads, also leftover from something else.

I've often thought it was a pity that silk doesn't translate through the screen so well.  I wish you could see how it shines...how crisp it is...how it holds it shape...how it drapes more beautifully than anything else.  I wish you could feel how delightfully soft and warm it is.  

Silk is truly something I love.

I wish the beads showed up a bit better in the pictures.  They are meant to resemble dew drops, though, catching the light subtly without distracting from the lace pattern itself.  In person they do just that.

Across the Beach

by Monique Boonstra

Claudia Hand Painted Silk Lace in Sunrise - approximately 1/2 skein....500 yards or so

24 inch Addi Turbo US 3 - 3.25 mm needle

size 8/0 gold lined beads

April 14 - May 8, 2016

In truth, this was a bit of a bear to knit.  There are some issues with the pattern - it's not as intuitive as lace patterns usually are, the charts are laid out in such a way that you have to flip back and forth quite a bit, and the designer doesn't use standard symbols.  Fortunately, there is very helpful information available on ravelry from other knitters who've worked with this pattern.

It was totally worth it.

The end result is light, and sweet...feminine without being too girlish  or too much.

I'm looking forward to wearing this one.