What's on my needles Friday

I started a new sweater.  This one is going to be a lacy jobbie.  I have about 3" done on the body.

I know; it doesn't look like much of anything. But it will get better, I promise you.

See how I've stretched it out?  That's going to be the lace for the body up until a couple of inches before the armholes.  Then I'll switch to a band pattern, take off my armhole sts, and then do a different lace on the bodice.

Knit shoulders off together, pick up and knit sleeve sts with yet another lace pattern or maybe using the bodice pattern.  I'm so far away from that that I don't know what I'll do, but it'll all work out.

Then, to finish that edge that wants to turn up, I'll pick up and knit a small lacy border on the bottom of the sweater.  There, I'm done.

The yarn is Filatura di Crosa Sportwool which I bought from The Stitching Bee in Chatham, NJ.  It comes in tons of colors, each one prettier than the next.  100% wool.  50 g.  approx 136 yards.  It's so soft and woolly.  I'm going to use it again and again.

I'm using a #5 needle.  Ordinarily I'd use a 4 because I knit loosely, but I want drape on this; so that's why the 5 needle.

And speaking of wool, here's what's newly listed in my Etsy shop:

New Lili Lace yarn.  I cannot tell you just how gorgeous this yarn is.  It's a superwash lace yarn, which means that it just soaks up the dye.  No, I'd never wash in the machin when I'm making lace shawls, so the superwash is what I want for the dyeing.

In order:  Abigail,  Bella, and Elegant!  875 yards of a slightly heavier lace weight yarn.  Very easy to work with, soft and with gorgeous drape. 

 

Plus, there are lots of sale sock yarns, and more Lili Lace Yarn.  I have a festival of yarn going on!

Lili Lace Yarn is the easiest lace yarn to work with!

Do you like lace but are a bit afraid of really thin yarn?  Do I have a yarn for you!

This is Lili Lace Yarn:  875 yards of a 2-ply, slightly heavier lace wt yarn in 100% merino.  It knits and crochets up so easily.  I've done so many shawls from "regular" lace yarn, and I love it, but for ease and speed, Lili yarn tops it.  There's just enough weight to it, so that you don't feel as if it's going to slide off your needles, and the stitches are really easy to see (especially if your eyes are not as young as they were.)  Price is a very competitive $30/skein.  Needle size can go from a 2 or 3 to a 6, if you like your shawls to be really lacy.  It is a glorious yarn to work with, I can promise you that!

Cameras and lights and monitors being what they are, the colors in the picture are pretty accurate (at least on my monitor).  The upper left hand yarn, the purple one, is move vivid and so is the upper right hand one.  That one is called Paprika, and really looks like the real thing.  Given that I'm Hungarian, I know the color of paprika, and this is it.

Where?  In my Etsy shop, of course!

A hint on working with any lace yarn:  use needles with a tiny bit of drag to them.  The Knit Pro wooden ones are perfect.  A good sharp point, and the yarn doesn't slide off the way it would with a metal needle.  Addi lace needles are also very good.  Bamboo will work well provided that the point is sharp.

Just off the needles.

Aleh Shawl:  2 sizes in 2 different yarns.

First is a little shawlette, more like a scarf or fichu.  Knit in Lyric yarn, which is this amazing singles fingering wt yarn.  Singles can be a pain to knit with, but not this one.  This one just knits up so easily.

Here it is in Lili Lace, which is a slightly heavier lace-weight yarn. Considerably skinnier than Lyric, but not as skinny as "regular" lace, and much easier to knit up.

I had so much fun doing these.  The border is a very easy leaf pattern, and the ground is a tiny leaf pattern, also.  A bit more work than garter or stockinette, but very much worth the extra effort.

Bundles! We have bundles!

Some new bundles of Rachel yarn (100 grams, 400 yards, SW merino) at a great price!  2 skeins for $36 + shipping!  Regular price per skein is $21, so this is a great deal!

And for you lace knitters, here's the deal of the century.  2 skeins of that most amazing lace yarn, Lili Lace, at $60 + shipping.  Each skein has 875 yards of 100% merino wool, and regularly sells for $33/skein. 

Where?:  at my Etsy shop.