I have a new love, and she is satisfying me in all possible ways. She’s called lace. I am now one with the lace. Let me show you.
It’s the Modern Lace Henley (well, the back of it, anyway), and I’ve been snatching moments of spare time to work on it. Never mind that I have another couple of me-projects on the needles; this one needs making now. It’s not at all as complicated as it looks, either. The lace pattern is eight rows, four of which are purled, and then the remaining four are really just two rows which start in different places. (If I’ve just confused all the non-knitters reading this, I beg your pardon!) I’ve changed the original pattern by adding shaping at the waist; I also plan to make the sleeves shorter and to change the collar a little.
I think this top will be ideal for the sort of weather that I glimpsed today (which will be increasing in frequency if there’s any justice in the world): bright, sunny, cool afternoons, warm in the sun but with a bit of bite to them if you’re outside. I could almost feel that familiar haze of heat and something undefinable which is the essence of late spring/early summer.
What else? There has been more progress on my shop, most of which is under wraps, but I can show you some jumpers being blocked:
Aren’t they sweet? (The blue thing on the right is the most brilliant invention ever: a magnetic pin holder.)
As ever, I’m reading several books at once, but I’m particularly enjoying my revisit of some favourite childhood novels: the Swallows & Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. As with all truly excellent children’s books, they’re very readable by adults too, because they don’t talk down to their intended audience. I love the setting (the Lake District, where I’ve spent many happy summers) and the period (inter-War). The piratey adventures aren’t bad either.
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You *made* that?!
*blinks*
Dear god, woman! Talented, much!
I am loving your Modern Lace Henley! It didn’t do much for me on Knitty, but I’m excited to see how yours will turn out!
I’ve been following your blog for a while (especially your Kim H. knits), but thought I’d de-lurk. :) So hi! I love your knits! Though I have a weird fear of dolls of any kind, but I love the garments you make for them, so maybe it evens out in the end…
Trine xx
I’m interested to see the mods you make to the Modern Lace Henley. Like Trine said, it didn’t really catch my eye in Knitty. But yours has me reconsidering.
Ellie: Thank you! I think it’s perhaps less a case of genuine talent and more stubborn determination – what you’re not seeing here are the bits I messed up and had to re-do…
Trine: Thank you for de-lurking and leaving such a nice comment! :) I think we’re already friends on Ravelry, aren’t we? I’ll try not to post any creepy doll-photos, and to keep the focus on the clothes – I wouldn’t want to give you nightmares by any means.
Steph: I’ve just posted the finished article and will try and get my notes on the mods up soon. :) I do like the original version, but I just couldn’t see it working on me.
I read the Swallows and Amazon books a number of times and loved them. I first read them when I was about 14 and had to special-order the later books in the series. (pre-Ebay) There’s a definite atmosphere to the entire series that really appealed to me, and I liked the naturalist/scientific curiosity/learn-how-to-do-it-yourself attitude of all of the characters.
Nancy, that’s just what I liked – the ingenuity and adventurous nature of the children. They’ve aged really well, too, although I fancy that the Lake District is a lot more crowded with tourists these days…