Tuesday, May 16, 2006

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  • Abandon Hope

    Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here.
    -Dante, The Divine Comedy;
    H.F. Cary's translation of the inscription on the gate to Hell

    I had big plans. A strange combination of Pride and Prejudice and Mason-Dixon Knitting was swirling around in my brain and I was going to knit frivolous lace for the home. I was going to have crisp cotton lace edgings on my pillowcloths. They were to be a light, crisp grass green in the color of Lizzie Bennet's bonnet ribbons when she tromps through the mud to come to Jane's rescue. Ahem. . .You know what they say about the best-laid plans, right? Not even the mighty heavy-duty starch could save these edgings.

    Notice how they curl.
    Stockinette stitch. What did I really expect?
    Notice how the straight edge is longer than the scalloped edge.
    I don't really understand why this is so, but it's unacceptable.
    Notice how I couldn't remember which decreases I was using.
    You may not be able to see it from a galloping horse, but it would drive me crazy.
    Notice how I ran out of yarn.
    Of course. But that wasn't the last straw.
    Notice how one of the pillowcases got a rip in it.

    Goodbye, lace edgings. Goodbye. Now to try to wash the starch out and see if I can reclaim the yarn. . .

    For the morbidly curious, the yarn is Paton's Grace and the pattern is for the lace edgings from IK a couple of summers ago - you know when they had all those little gift patterns? I still love the idea, but the execution needs some work.

    13 Comments:

    Blogger Carole Knits said...

    You may be bummin' but you've still got your sense of humor. At least you gave it a shot.

    5/16/2006 2:53 PM  
    Blogger Marina said...

    It looked so pretty though. Can't you use it for something else?

    5/16/2006 4:44 PM  
    Blogger Wendy said...

    You know Brenda Dayne wants an Elizabeth Bennett empire waist gown -- maybe you could send her your lace edgings for the neckline.

    See you Thurs.

    W

    5/16/2006 4:55 PM  
    Blogger Lynda said...

    been there.... I 'modified' a scarf pattern, changing the garter stitch to stockinette, because I thought it would look nicer... it curled up into such a little tube, who knew what it looked like!? Get me for thinking I'm smarter than the pattern writer...

    5/16/2006 5:25 PM  
    Blogger silverarrowknits said...

    I'm sorry about the lace edgings. It was a good idea. I know I have seen some pillow lace edgings elsewhere...maybe Last Minuted Knitted Gifts?

    5/16/2006 6:47 PM  
    Blogger Chris said...

    I always wondered how well that lace edging thing worked in practice...

    5/16/2006 7:03 PM  
    Blogger Kate Diamond said...

    Lace-edging for your pillows? What a fantabulous idea! Sorry it didn't work out, but be proud--you've graduated beyond decorating with The Futon From Hell.

    5/16/2006 7:24 PM  
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I was so excited to see your lace edgings on a previous post, since you were the only knitter I discovered who was trying them besides myself...I'm so sorry they didn't work out as you had hoped! Fingers crossed you can at least save the yarn! Have you tried anything from "Lace from the Attic" by Nancy Wiseman? I'm doing a pattern from that book with the Clarks Opera cotton...maybe when you're ready to start again, you could try that and see if you like it better.

    5/16/2006 8:23 PM  
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Great idea! I wonder if a different fiber choice could yield the results you're looking for...but beats me what that fiber choice would be. Cotton or Linen, maybe???

    5/16/2006 8:35 PM  
    Blogger Norah said...

    I can vouch for the lace inserts in Weekend Knitting. They are a bit fiddly (they are inserts, not edgings, meaning that the pillowcase hem needs to be cut off and then resewn on both sides of the lace), but the results are really stunning.

    5/17/2006 5:29 AM  
    Blogger amandazen said...

    Ah that is to bad that your lace edges did not work out. They came out so nice though...

    Amanda :)

    5/17/2006 7:41 AM  
    Blogger Carrie K said...

    How annoying that they didn't have the good sense to lay flat! They look good from here, but the curling would drive me crazy.

    5/17/2006 10:17 AM  
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I'm trying to brainstorm other things they could be used for. You could line a small basket and put that around the edge -- the longer outside would be fine in that context. You could sew it into a circle and have a very delicate sweatband. You could use them as curtain tiebacks.

    That's all I've got.

    5/18/2006 6:47 AM  

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