Luci

 This is Luci.

Luci was born in the spring of 2014, and she very quickly became one of Mom's favorite lambs.

Why?  Well....that first picture is a clue....

Luci (on the left) was a bottle baby, which meant she spent time in the house and has grown up to be one of the sweetest ewes in the flock.

Last summer Mom and I went through the yarn that she'd had spun up, and I discovered a batch of beautiful, creamy, squishy fingering weight wool that had been made from Luci's first shearing.  I could tell Mom was super attached to that yarn...and I knew that it needed to be made into something special just for her.

I also knew Mom tended to put herself last on the list, so I asked if I could bring it home and knit it up for her.

She requested lace, and she wanted a shape that she didn't already have. 

I decided on a rectangular stole because it would allow me to make a fairly large piece.  I also knew that the pattern needed to be fairly simple because the yarn was not spun up very evenly...there were thick and thin spots which made more complicated lace tricky to pull off cleanly.  Also, I wanted the yarn to be the star of the show...not the pattern this time.  Jane Sowerby's beautiful book, Victorian Lace Today, provided just exactly what was needed.

I missed my Christmas deadline by a few days.  I was not at all happy about that, but life got in the way and it just wasn't possible.  Also, I'd forgotten how long those knit-on edges take!

Blocking this piece was a real revelation.  It relaxed beautifully, and the finished piece ended up being larger than I expected...even though I didn't pull it very tight.

Can't wait to deliver it to my mama!

Leaf and Trellis by Jane Sowerby

in Victorian Lace Today

fingering weight Jacob wool by Luci - about 1,500 yards

Addi Turbo 24" (I forgot to record the size, and now I can't remember...maybe a 6?)

finished size - 26 x 72 inches

December 17 - 29, 2016