Sunday, November 29, 2009

Desperately in need of a grip.

See this?

This is a couple hundred yards of two-ply silk/alpaca blend I spun myself a couple months ago, if you remember. It's meant as a thank-you gift for The Auntie who helped the husbeast find his new job. In the next couple weeks, I'd like to invite The Auntie and her husband out to dinner with us, thank her more formally, and give her the scarf as a gift.

First, I've gotta knit the fucker.

I'd like it to be lace; I've got some natural stone beads to put on the ends, and the lace will give more square footage for the yardage of yarn I've got. (Plus, thanks to my knitting history, I can do lace in my sleep, almost.) Which pattern? Yeah. There's a question. I have been through every book I've got (that isn't in a box in South Carolina), I've dug through every scarf I can find on Ravelry, and nothing seems right. I'd consider something other than a scarf, but I don't have enough yarn for much else, The Auntie doesn't wear hats, and it's meant as a surprise so I can't fit anything to her.

So, now, I'm down to flipping through the pages of Heirloom Knitting. Nothing against Shetland lace knitters, but when you're down to flipping through HK and considering an original design, you've officially lost your mind. Sometimes that's a good thing, but there's always a degree of insanity involved.

I'll let all of you know what happens next, when I figure it out myself.

8 comments:

Sarah {The Student Knitter} said...

I'm certain that you'll find something just lovely - and I'm very jealous that I can't knit lace in my sleep!!

walterknitty said...

Have you looked at the Anne Shirley scarf on Knitty? It's in their Fall 2008 issue. It's more stunning knit up than the picture shows and the pattern is easy to memorize.

Amy Lane said...

Okay-- Fons & Porter magazine (not one of my favorites, but it's doable) has an 'Aventine scarf pattern' --basic lace motif repeat, but I bet that would look AWESOME w/that yarn...

Happy hunting!

Elly said...

Not for this project, but have you seen the Queen Susan shawl/project? http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/queen-susan-shawl.html

Donna Lee said...

I'd make it something simple because your yarn is so beautiful it should shine.

roxie said...

Frost flowers? Simple pattern, lots of yos, looks much more tricky than it is. Or do a seedstitch moebius on overlarge needles. You can knit that while you're reading.

Alwen said...

Try not to overthink it - remember the Auntie hasn't seen Ravelry's jillions. It's okay to sit a while and think, but at some point you just have to cast on and knit!

Arianne said...

What weight yarn is it?