Lace knitting

I would love to preface this blog entry by stating that I am NOT a lace knitter.
Lace knitters are a breed that I am not related to. My mother could sit and
knit an entire sweater in lace. Angelika can knit shawls on tiny tiny needles
with an ever changing pattern. I on the other hand knit for 10 minutes here
and there and up forgetting the pattern in between knitting sessions. While
I own and have used a set of size 000 circular Abby Turbos, the thought of
knitting an entire garment on them gives me the hives. But can I knit lace. Yes! I, as well as many other knitters, forget that lace is simply a pattern like any
other. There are hard patterns and there are easy patterns. Take for example
a hat pattern. You can knit a hat on size 2 needles, using a complicated fair aisle pattern or
an Aran pattern with lots of traveling stitches OR you can knit a hat that fits
exactly the same, but it is knitted on size 7 needles in a solid color. The result is the same, a nice
warm hat that fits nice. So in designing a class for relatively new knitters who want to try lace, I went in
search of patterns. I had several qualifications for the pattern. A) It had to have a simple repeat. New knitters, like oh so forgetful me, may get lost
in 7 lines of pattern. New knitters will also have trouble recognizing mistakes in a complicated pattern. B) It had to use the most basic of lace knitting stitches. K2tog, YO and SSK. C) It had to look good in a variety of yarns. Many lace patterns looks good in
lace weight yarn, but when knit is a worsted weight yarn, it looks crowded. Patterns
that look good in a heavier yarn will often look plain. I came up with Turvid's one row scarf pattern. Lots of pictures proved that it
looks good in everything from lace weight to bulky. Simple to do, easy to remember and can easily be adjusted to any width from a small scarf to a wide wrap. After I finished to scarf, I wanted a wrap. So I took the basics of the Turvid
scarf and decided I wanted a change. I wanted a resting row. Every other row would be knit only. I also wanted fewer holes. After all, in a bulky yarn as a
wrap, fewer holes make for a warmer garment. So I tried knitting 4 stitches in
between the holes instead of 2 to make the holes less frequent. However, I didn't like the
look of horizontal holes going the length of the wrap. What was I to do. I wanted
an easy pattern. So I started graphing. I came up with a diagonal pattern that maintains the 5
stitch repeat but the beginning and the ending of each row changes by one stitch.
A little more complicated, but if a new knitter completed the Turvid scarf, they should be able
to handle the pattern easily enough. So I came up with 2 classes. One super easy for the new knitter, and a second is
great for someone who has more knitting experience or who wants a slightly harder project than the first scarf. Classes will begin in January. http://www.ravelry.com/shops/bookworm-silkworm