Which pattern and yarn have you chosen?

Post your chosen pattern and yarn here!

Permalink Reply by susannewj on March 23, 2008 at 7:23am: I am thinking about knitting Michelle's Shawl. Although I have been knitting for years, this will be my first lace project. Hope it will not be too difficult.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by susannewj on March 24, 2008 at 2:36pm: What yarn would you suggest for this shawl?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alison on March 24, 2008 at 2:45pm: I just love the way that shawl drapes! If you like the multi-colored look of the hand dyed yarn in the pattern photo, I would recommend using Shimmer - the new colors are really incredible. We'll have half of the new colors up by the end of the week (you can see three of them already), and the other half of the colors should hit the warehouse in mid-April. You should have seen us when the new colors first arrived at the office...the new color blends are so beautiful we couldn't keep our hands off of them!

If you wanted to use a solid or heather color, any of our other lace weight yarns would work, too.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by susannewj on March 24, 2008 at 5:14pm: I also likes how it drapes - one of the main reasons I am thinking about trying it. The yarns look beautiful. I'll probably wait to see them all before I make a choice.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mary F. on March 24, 2008 at 7:53pm: Because I have the yarn already, I believe I'll begin the Water Turtles shawl. My yarn is even the same blue as the picture on page 67 (not the green that shows on Pp 68 and 69). We're leaving on a one-week cruise on Sunday, so I hope to have become comfortable with the pattern by then, so I can take it with me. At the moment I have nothing - believe it or don't - NOTHING on the needles! This is a first! Mary; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by DolyDimple on March 26, 2008 at 6:09am: Nothing? Wow! I told myself when I started knitting that I would only do one project at a time, but that only lasted a couple of months. I have two unfinished socks, a scarf, and a bag on the needles right now, plus an afghan that needs mending.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mary F. on March 26, 2008 at 10:51am: Well, DolyDimple, the "nothing" didn't last long. Last night I cast on the feather and fan cape from the Knitters' magazine "dozen" collection. I'm using variegated blues and pinks cotton yarn from Elann, and it's lookin' good. I also have one sleeve to finish of a Norwegian sweater in Galway tweeds - black and dark red -(confession is good for the soul). It's so easy to get four or five projects on the needles, only to rip out one or two of them, isn't it? Which of the shawl patterns have you selected from Alison's book? And what yarn are you using? Mary; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by DolyDimple on March 26, 2008 at 11:00am: My book hasn't arrived yet. I can't wait to look through it and start planning projects.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by DolyDimple on March 27, 2008 at 3:25pm: Yay, my book arrived today! Now to decide what pattern to start...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by DolyDimple on March 29, 2008 at 8:36am: I was going to do the Julia shawl in Aplaca Cloud. Do you guys think that will work ok?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by susannewj on March 29, 2008 at 11:19am: Yesterday i ordered 3 skeins of Alpaca Cloud in Iris Heather. I am planning on knitting Michelle's shawl. Hope I am not being overly ambitious.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alison on March 31, 2008 at 2:12pm: It depends on the effect you'd like to get. The suggested yarn, "Petal" by Lisa Souza Knitwear, is a fingering weight yarn (14 wpi). The closest Knit Pick substitution would be Gloss, and it would help you get the substantial-looking fabric of the shawl in the picture.

If you substitute a single strand of Alpaca Cloud, you'd get a filmy, ethereal shawl with larger holes and a finer fabric. If your heart is set on Alpaca Cloud (or another lace weight yarn) and you still want your shawl to resemble the photo, you could try double-stranding the lace weight yarn. Make sure to swatch, as you'll have to be careful about your gauge. You'll also get a chance to make sure that the finished fabric has the character you want. Just make sure that, if you decide to double-strand lace weight yarn, you purchase twice as many yards as is suggested by the pattern. In the case of the Julia shawl, you would want about 1350 yards of lace weight yarn, or about 3 skeins of any Knit Picks lace weight yarn (at 440 yards per 50g).

Hope this helps!; ▶ Reply to This