Sunday, May 18, 2008

Warning! Spoiler!

A,
Sweet summer release! The season of lemonade, of bare feet and peonies. Time to travel, read, and protest kangabots. (That’s right, they do exist)
I had a plan to up my gift-knitting productivity, to finish this gift for you by the end of the month. That plan only lasted two days. Instead, I broke down and I’m posting a hint of what it’s going to be. I couldn’t decide which picture was better.

In the first picture, it’s so dark you can barely make it out. Yet the picture shot by flashlight ended up a little smudgy.

Perhaps the poor quality of both will lend itself to an air of mystery. Or not. Since you’ve been looking up lace projects you may already know what this is. But, well, there you have it.
I’ve been contemplating what I like so very much about lace. For one, there’s the longevity of the project. Tiny stitches. I enjoy the general lack of shaping involved and the lesser importance of checking gauge. There is something satisfying in realizing that it is a long-term project and that it was not meant to be knit in a day. It’s relaxed. It’s alright if it takes a while to finish. When I realized this, I decided that it wasn’t worth destroying that valuable aspect of knitting lace to rush to finish your project. And so instead I’m spoiling the surprise.
So welcome to summer. For the both of us! I hope the cicadas are singing through your open window and I hope you are catching up on a semester's worth of sleep. James went missing this week, so maybe I'll give you a call later on. Congrats on passing all your exams.

K

Friday, May 2, 2008

Help a sister out

Hey, everyone. K and everyone else. I know you're out there. I know people read this. I need some opinions. I'm working on the design of a sweater right now, and I'm up in the air with what I should do.

Here's the basic design.


Well, okay, I haven't exactly made the decision on the ends of the sleeves yet, but I'll figure that out when I get there. (Yes, I drew this on the back of my immunology notes.)

I'd like to make this in a simple allover stitch, and we've got two choices.

Number 1: Moss stitch


Number 2: Double Seed Stitch


Click for big. Here's both side by side.


Help me out. Which do you all think would be best? Leave me a comment.

A