Charlotte's Web

Pattern: from Koigu (get it here)
Materials: Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks 2ply wool (100% wool in 150 yd or 600 yd skeins). 300 yards of blue heather and ~300 yards of pink heather. Size US6 Denise
Gauge: I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t check (bad girl!)
Finished size: 70” across neck edge, 32” from neck edge to center point

Started: August 20, 2005
Finished: September 23, 2005

Notes:
Obviously, I only used 2 colors instead of the five colors suggested in the pattern. I also omitted the last 3 rows of the pattern and the fringe due to a yarn shortage.

Discussion:
My first large scale lace project I think was a success. Or at least I’m happy enough with it and I think that my great grandmother will really enjoy it this Christmas. I would recommend this pattern to people as their first lace project as it was really quite easy once you understood what they wanted you to do. The only problem I ran into was what to do in the end with the bind off as this was never mentioned in the pattern.

I found that stitch markers to mark off pattern repeats was the key here. Because of it, I never had to count all the stitches on my needles. I never counted rows because the lace pattern was so simple that I could always tell where I was in the repeat. I’m really not that smart. Every even row was an all purl row and the last two rows of the pattern were the same as the two before it.

On my next go at this pattern, I’ll probably do nothing at all different except use the color that I have more of as color 1, 3, and 5 (the “outside” colors I like to think of it as) so that I can finish all of the rows. I’ll also cast off on larger needles, and I may even try the picot cast off suggested by one of the ladies in the Charlotte KAL.

Previous posts about this project:
I’m not the only one… on 8/19/2005
A good weekend on 8/22/2005
Eek! IN damn spot… on 8/25/2005
Confessions of a lazy knitter on 9/15/2005
Weekend knitting on 9/19/2005
Back in the Saddle on 9/23/2005