Saturday, May 20, 2006

This is a Boring Post Without Pictures, because honestly, I couldn't think of any interesting things to do to make a picture of my progress look like anything other than a pathetic little shriveled thing. I think lace KALs are at a disadvantage, don't you? I mean, if you are knitting an aran or fair isle, it looks like Something while you're knitting it. But not lace. Lace looks like a poor beleaguered little pile until you have finished and blocked it and it becomes a swan.

Okay, now that I have the purple prose out of the way, here's my dilemma: I have a thing about the number 9. I want there to be 9 columns of yarn overs on my Icarus. There are 8 (my younger son's favorite number) in the pattern. Do I have enough yarn? I ran out of the first ball four rows shy of the last full repeat of rows 19-42. I suppose I could figure it out mathematically, but where's the fun in that?! ;) I'm using Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud, which has 440 yards per ball, so I have 880 total yards.
What do y'all think?

In answer to previous comments:

Miriam wrote that straight needles hurt her wrists. I find myself getting more used to them. With the laceweight, I have it all scrunched down to the tips of the needles. So far, so good. :)

And Miriam and Eva both posted their Alpaca Cloud wrangling tips. Thank you! I've gotten more used to it and haven't been pulling off as much at a time. And I can add in one more tip: it doesn't seem to respond either to swearing or begging.

And Sarah, truer words were never spoken. I also am amazed I have killed neither myself nor anyone else with the straight needles. Yet.

So...Carol in NoVa, when do we get to see your pretty forest green Icarus? Hmmmmmmm? :)

Well, I'm off to try to enable some more victims friends into knitting Icarus. Hee.

3 comments:

Katie said...

Yup, lace isn't so photogenic when it's all scrunched up on the needles. Mine's to the point where I can't seem to explain to non-knitters what I'm working on--"see, this along here will be the top, and I'm working around the triangle, and, oh, nevermind."

Miriam said...

The way Icarus is designed, you should have the center column of yarn overs and then one added on each side with every repeat. So you should be able to get 9. Not sure whether you just miscounted or something, but there's no way to get an even number if you're doing it as written.

Romi said...

Hmmm. I count 8 columns of YOs coming off the center column. Am I just counting differently? Are you counting the center one as one? No matter! Mine has the same number as the one you are wearing in the picture on this blog (which is lovely!), because I didn't have enough yarn for more. :)