Tuesday, February 1, 2011

FO: Beaded Lace Scarf

 I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot, but you get the idea.
Beaded Lace Scarf
Pattern: from Knitted Lace of Estonia
Yarn: Jaggerspun Wool-Silk 2/18
Needle: 3.5 mm

This was a Christmas/birthday gift for my BFF who loves to wear pink.  She finally received it the other day so now I can post about it.

I used the book Knitted Lace of Estonia to piece together the pattern for this.  The body of the scarf is the Piibelehtkiri pattern from the stitchionary, and the edge is taken from Madli's Shawl.  I love this edge and might use it again in the future, maybe knitting Madli's Shawl itself.

Throughout, I used beads instead of nupps.  These beads are plastic, and almost a perfect match for the yarn color.  They give a bit of a sparkle when caught in the right light, but otherwise just melt into the yarn, providing a subtle "something" that's classy but really hard to photograph.
Speaking of the yarn, this is Jaggerspun Wool-Silk 2/18.  I really enjoyed working with it, and after blocking the fabric is light and slightly soft but not fuzzy (unlike the alpaca yarn I was knitting recently).  I liked it enough that I scooped up a couple more skeins from another Raveler in Singapore, but of course I'm not going to have time to knit it until I get home to US anyway.  Sigh.

I didn't worry about getting the blocking done perfectly, because I knew I would be cramming it into an envelope to send it off.  Even so, when I look at the photo I took of the blocking below I realize that it was quite wonky.  There are no straight lines to be seen hehehe.  Luckily, it will be twisted around a neck most of the time, so nobody will notice that some sections are wider than others.

The recipient of this scarf is no stranger to knitted gifts.  Almost every year since I learned to knit, I've made her something for Christmas.  I'm not sure exactly why I started up this particular tradition, but she got me interested in yarny crafts in the first place so it only seems right. (She's on hiatus from being an avid crocheter and taught me to crochet years ago.)
 
I always pick something that's beyond my current skills, and challenge myself to make something awesome for her. In the past, she has received my first complete cabled item - a cotton towel, yeah don't ask me what I thought she was gonna do with a knit towel with cables all over it - and a pair of mittens which were the first all-over stranded knitting project also the first mittens I knit.  This scarf was the first time I've used beads and is certainly more challenging than anything lacy I've knit before.

I'm already wondering what new technique to tackle for her this Christmas.  Brioche knitting, maybe, or entrelac?  I've got about six months to decide before I need to start working on it.  Isn't that terrible, to be thinking about Christmas knitting again already?  How time flies!

1 comment:

  1. Ooooh, I love this! Gorgeous! I'm going to try the Madli next too!

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