Lace Knit-Along

I was at my LYS last week, knitting with my friend Libby H., when the owner asked Libby if she'd be interested in organising and leading a lace knit-along. Libby is a lace goddess. She has been helping at a lace workshop at the store, a workshop I wasn't able to attend because of prior commitments. She makes lace the way I make hats: often, with skill, and skillfully. Her lace rocks.

Libby wasn't too sure, but I asked her to consider it. I've done some lace, but I'm really intimidated by it. First, I don't know how to read a chart, so if the lace pattern isn't written out in line-by-line directions, I'm screwed. Second, there are often directions in lace that I don't understand. Knit two through the back? What the hell does that mean, and I say, "Oh, I can't do that," when probably, with a little effort, I probably can. Third, lace often involves counting, I get so freaked out by making sure that there are enough stitches that I am never sure if I am getting and accurate count. After casting on 200-plus stitches, I count by twos to 20, then to 30, then to 40, then to 50, then to 60, then to 80, and so on, and wonder why I have the wrong count. I almost always miss 70. I don't know why this happens, but there it is. Sometimes I count 70 twice, which is just another way to screw up my stitch count. Even when I put a stitch marker every 20 or 25 stitches, I still manage to screw up the count, and usually have to count it several times before I know how many stitches are actually on the needle. Hey, counting is hard.

If Libby agrees, and we actually have a lace knit-along, I'll be sure to join up. I want to stop being afraid to knit lace, and actually make some of the things I've favourited over on Ravelry.

Here is an example of lace I've made. It's the Upstairs pattern, byWolke7 on Ravelry. I've done it twice, once in lavender and once in red. This one is in the discontinued Cascade Epiphany.