I guess it was inevitable that I would knit a doily (did I spell that right?) but missalicefaye sending me that cone of delicious Habu that has a precious 155 yards on it, pushed me over the edge. She suggested perhaps a doily? Maybe from one of my new "languages not English" books? Lets face it kids, I'm old (at least I feel old) and have not really been knitting lace all that long. Cables were my thing for years and years. That and spinning in the 1980's when it was considered aberrant behaviour. It's only recently I dove head-first into the wonderland of lace. Before all this, my biggest lace project was from Gladys Amedro's beautiful book and that shawl has been gone for years to the aunt of a friend (I plan to make that shawl again and keep it this time). Still, in my knitting library I have always collected lots of books and magazines on Lace. Much of it I have never actually knit from except for the odd "shawl from a doily pattern" type of thing. I like to collect things I'm interested in and then I appear to reach a "tipping point" where I topple into a new activity or look at an old one in a different light. I think I've reached that point with the doilies.
See above a lovely little Italian lace knitting magazine that has no English translation or legend in it. I bought it at Lacis, of course and their knitting group is working from it. I discovered which pattern the group is working on from Sandy's blog. She had a great description of her day at the shop and great pictures! Anyway. I am up to row 32 of a 83 row doily and the nice part is that this pattern is not very difficult so I've been able to figure out the most common stitches. Every even row is a plain knit row so you get a rest from the pattern. Thank you Laritza for telling me about the plain knit row so I could loosen up the old sphincter and take a chance. The nice thing about the plain row is that you can move your row markers over when needed in that row. Now I know I have broken the rule I made about not starting something until I finish something, but come on. It's a doily. I don't think they actually count when they are so small, do you? Of course, I have no idea what I'm going to do with the thing once its done but if I was really practical I would not be knitting lace :-)
I'm using a cotton thread that I have used before but for the purpose of tatting. Flora HH # 50 in a pale variegated green. I am using US 0000 needles just for laughs. It's a nice break from the other projects. WRS is torture but pretty and very very slow, I'm almost done with one side of the edging for Boundary Waters so will post that some time next week I hope. I have a quarter of the border for Sampler Stole to go and then I will post before picking up the side edges for the edging. I put a hold on the Legends of the Shetland Seas until something is finished. Spider Queen and the Tea Shawl and my albatross the Peacock Feathers Shawl will all wait their turn.
Have a great weekend!
30 comments:
Ha ha. I got over my doily addiction years ago. I have a lot of magazines like that--some from my Mother. Fortunately, I grew up knitting doilies, and don't have to ever spend another instant doing it. I like looking at the pictures, though, and it occured to me that I could knit, say 5/8 of the circle and make a shawl that would actually stay on my shoulders.
But you will have fun with them. Sew them onto a round pillow or the back of a vest (I used to do that in the '60s).
Finally got the border for the Spider King worked out. It took all day. I'll post when I have some real knitting done on the shawl. Right now, I have a table full of swatches.
I can't believe how neat your cast on is, it's lovely! (Mine never, *ever* look that neat!) I have some tiny needles and some cotton here for doilies, but I've never gotten around to actually trying them. I'm currently working on a Shetland Shawl, and if I start any other lace, I know I won't work on the shawl, so I try to leash the startitis!
looks beautiful and the subtle shading of the colours enhances the piece...
I was really surprised when you said you haven't been knitting lace long, looking at your work I thgought you'd been doing it ages....
Dear fleegle,
I'm a late bloomer as far as the doily thing is concerned. My mother only knit for utility,not for beauty. No lace from her hands as far as I can tell. I have used Gloria Pennings doily patterns for those shawls. I belive I made a total of 4 of them. I still have all those books and will look at them again with new eyes. Trust you to have already "been there, done that!" Some of us are just playing catch-up with you so I guess I'm going to have a few of these doilies lying around for awhile. I can't wait to see how that border for Spider King will come out. Mine is on hold until I get done with a few things but they are coming along. Slowly but surely!
Dear Donna,
I'm just one of those people who is always working on multipal projects. I can't belive how patient everyone is with how slowly I make progress as a result. As for my cast on, I used a tatted cast on so that the needles just go into the picot edges. My hands just don't want to do the crochet cast on and a regular long-tail cast on would be murder. Good luck with the Shetland Shawl.
Dear littleberry,
I learned to knit as an adult and though I did knit some lace in the past it was not anywhere near what I'm doing now. If you counted the shawls and stoles I did before 2006, I think the total was less than 10. I have all of Gloria Pennings books on doilies and I had even joined the Lacy Knitters Guild. Then I fell in love with cables and never looked back. The only reason I took up lace again was burn-out from the cable knitting and the fact that I started spinning again in 2006. Spinning lace weight yarn means you have to either give it away or knit with it. I'm really enjoying the lace now and I have a better understanding of how it works. It just "clicked" one day. Lucky me!
Whata great history you have!
The doily has beautiful pattern and making something small makes lovely change isn't it?
It might help you to take a look at this English-Italian knitting/crochet dictionary:
http://www.unfilodi.com/blog/dovetrovarebuoneidee/bettas-knitionary.html
It won't be as helpful as an Italian-English dictionary in this case, but it's small enough that you can scan the Italian terms quickly even if they are not in alphabeticla order.
I'm totally in love with your doily! They're fabulous little projects because they're gorgeous, yet take significantly less time than, say, WRS. :) And your tatted cast on is a thing of beauty on its own...
Wow. The beauty of your doily has rendered me speechless and incoherent. Wow.
Damn. Those are tiny needles.
Dear lillysmuud,
Knitting the doily is more fun than I would have thought and it is nice to make something small and relatively quick. Oddly enough, its the same amount of work to knit a doily of about 90 rows as it would be to make a small circular shawl in bigger needles and yarn, but it feels different somehow. I have no idea why:-)
Dear francesca,
Thank you so much for the link! It has a lot of good translation for me and some of the patterns for edging don't appear to have a chart, just written instuctions so I think it will help with those. And you are right. It is easier to scan than a big dictionary. Thanks again!
Dear missalicefaye,
I had no idea that little doilies would actually be so addicting to knit. Watching the pattern come out gives me a better understanding why it might have been so popular to make them in the past. I really should pay more attention to the WRS but it's so darned hot out here right now that I'm sticking to the yarn :-( The cotton is easier and the doily is much less time consuming. I needed a break.
Dear Opal,
Glad you enjoyed the "eye candy". I actually can use those needles Ok on tatting cotton since it won't split like yarn and is a lot more rigid than yarn would be. I wouldn't want to try using those or smaller needles on something with "give" to it. I'd go crazy for sure. Since I knit those beaded purses with US 000 circulars, this was not really much of a difference.
Doily so wouldn't count in the whole project on the needles tally, or it could and you add a new category, much like I do. I "allow" myself a shawl project, a sweater project, a sock project and a kidlet project. Except I'm breaking my own guidelines now and have two shawls, with a third pushing really hard to get on the needles!
Dear crazyfiberlady,
I'd only fill each catagory and then go over the limit LOL! But I like the way you think :-) I don't think I have enough of this color cotton to finish the doily (the company stopped making this size thread) so I may finish the edge with DMC Cordonate in 50. Thank you for commenting! I love hearing what everyone else is doing!
Every time I look at your blog I see something else I want to do. I had my fill of crocheted doilies and have only ever knitted one doily. The doily is so pretty.
What great timing! I too had purchased the same book .... was ready to hop back on the "doily train" .... and had seen Sandy's post. Result ... I'm on round 20 and loving it. Fortunately I have a sister who actually loves and uses doilies (little Miss Victorian herself).... we're a match made in lace knitting heaven.
I was glad to find the dictionary, but had a hard time translating. I got more of the translation from reading the charts and the knitting than from reading the words. Still not sure of the little "box without the bottom" with the 3 in it, but figured it was some sort of triple decrease and will deal with that when I get there. Likewise with the "box without a top" with a 2 in it. Must be an increase.
I'm using Cebelia 20 on size 0 needles, so will end up with a larger doily than you. It will be fun to watch you progress. Funny how I now feel more balanced with a doily on the needles! I think my doilies are like everyone else's socks.
Can you post some hints on making a doily into a shawl? Aside from using worsted weight and size 22 needles, of course? I see a few doilies that might be lovely....
Deara knitsanity,
I don't know how to crochet so this would be my first actualy doily and it's a knit one. How I'm going to finish it off is anyones guess as it is supposed to be a crochet chain cast off type of a thing. I may do something else however. Since I get a lot of my ideas on what to do from everyone elses blogs it's only fair if I can return the favor :-)
Dear Susie,
It's nice to have some translation but actually looking at the picture and the way it's supposed to end up is really helpful. The number three in the box appears to just be another way to indicate that you are making the point of a leaf.I went ahead and did the slip one, knit two together and psso solution for that. I haven't reached that box with the 2 in it yet but I'll let you know what it looks like it might be when I get there. It's nice you have someone who likes this sort of thing. I imagine mine will end up in a box. Of course, I may not have enough in this color to finish the whole doily and I may have to end it with white (I can't find the second ball I thought I had). Can't wait to see how everyone elses comes out.
Dear fleegle,
In the side bar of my blog under the "Tags" section, there are two entries that I've re-named "circular shawls from doily patterns" that talks about some of how that might be done. In fact, the pattern in the Knit Picks catologue called "Rhona" is from a doily pattern that was re-published by Gloria Penning. Most all of the ways that people do it are by making the needles bigger. However, now that I'm making a doily, I imagine you could just take a lace tablecloth pattern and knit it with smaller needles to make a shawl if you wanted to stick to gossamer weight or something like it. I'm eyeing those tablecloths carefully for just that reason! Maybe once I've done this doily, I will do it as a shawl as well for people to compare and see if they want to try out the needle technique. Of course, I would add a knit on edge, not a crochet edge to a shawl. That would make it even larger.
A pretty pretty doily! Is that like sock knitting for us regular knitters? A palate cleanser?
Dear carol,
Yep! This would be the sorbet alright :-)
How lovely! I need to get stuff finished and start knitting lace in a different color than white and off-white! I love your cast-on. How did you do it?
I just got back from Germany last night and was internet-less for close to two weeks. I did find the lasted Lena and a bunch of sock yarn and crochet hooks with handles :D
I also got a long string of tatted beading done .....I wonder what that will be good for!
I better go write a blog entry with all this stuff! and take some pictures!
Dear Laritza,
Since you know how to tat, it's really easy. It works best with yarn that is smooth since it relies on being able to make a tatted ring where you can close the ring by pulling the circle shut (Think crochet cast-on where you have to be able to close that ring). You take the end of the yarn you want to use and wind a length on, enought to make the ring and leave a tail. You make a double stitch, then a picot the size where your double pointed needle would fit through. Make another double stitch and picot etc until you have enough picots for the number of stitches you were ment to cast on. close the ring, put the needles on and go to town! I will put some pictures up but if you don't tat, it won't make any sense. I've always wondered what to do with beaded tatting too. I don't do it much myself. I'd rather be knitting :-)
Hi
I discovered your blog today whilst googling for colourmart - I just bought some laceweight from them. I am new to lace knitting - but can see that your blog will be really helpful to me - never mind inspirational. Yours is a great blog.
Sue - London UK
Dear stitch'n dye,
Welcome to a fellow Scoropio! I looked at all the beautiful dyed samples on your blog and I thought the colors were just awesome! Great color saturation. Lace can be a lot of fun but can also be that "Mistress Bitch With A Whip" if you let it. I try to have fun with it and not let it make me crazy or guilty. Happy to hear from you and glad you are liking the blog. If you like lace, check out the side bar for other peoples blogs. I need to update it but they all share a love of knitting and most times also of lace :-)
This could really get my sister in trouble! She's the only crocheter in the family, and has been crocheting doilies, and tablecloths (still waiting for mine) for years. Now I could make my own...hmmm...or not.
Dear Knit Picking,
Just make sure you have enough thread. I started this doily with a ball of thread from my tatting stash. I thought for sure I had another ball. Ha! Only one ball. I will finish the last portion in plain white since they no longer manufacture this tatting cotton in this weight (size 50). Hazard of getting old. A Stash that can be carbon dated :-) Start out small if you are going to be making a doily. That way if you hate doing it you can just leave it at the one project or not feel bad about frogging it! Either that or bug your sister for a doily!
Jane
Post a Comment