Rose Leaf Lace

Rose Leaf Lace
Originally uploaded by Sheepish.

It has apparently been declared the summer of lace in knitblogland. Now, I hate to be a follower, but it seems only logical to put down the thick, heavy yarns and cable sweaters in favor of lightweight airy fabric. I've had several summery yarns in the wings just waiting for the opportunity to be played with. And, since I finally finished the bamboo shirt (too be shown later), I was able to dig into the project I've been thinking about for the past week or two.

What you see in the picture here is some Rowan California Cotton (long-discontinued, I believe) that my mother-in-law had all tangled up in her stash. She tends to knit mostly kids' sweaters with superwash wool for her grandchildren. Almost any time she has gotten the idea in her head to knit something for herself out of some other yarn, she hasn't liked the results or the yarn, so she puts it aside. Then, the yarns get tangled and she never wants to touch them again. I was lucky enough to be at her place one evening when she was willing to part with anything I felt like untangling. I came away with a very large bag full of good quality yarns. This was one of them. Now, the colors she tends to choose are earthtones, and not necessarily very lively, but that has its place in my stash among the other, more colorful yarns.

So, as I said before, I've been thinking about this project for a week or two. Actually, I've been planning it. Even with all of the mishaps in my last design attempt (which I still need to tell you about), and because I'm apparently a glutton for punishment, I've designed another. This one I believe to be foolproof, but we'll see. It's going to be a little airy short-sleeved (maybe 3/4 - I have yet to decide) cardigan, that is being knit almost all in one piece to avoid any sewing. So far, so good, and I really like the way the lace looks on this cotton, which, by the way is really soft and will be a pleasure to wear. What you see here is two pattern repeats. Together, they make a leaf pattern. I'll post the link to the stitch pattern another time.

For now, I'm off to the local outdoor market.