L Is For… Lace!
Image Copyright 2014 by A. Catherine Noon, All Rights Reserved
Lace | Art | Fun
Lace is to a knitter what oils are to a painter: something toward which to aspire, elevated from craft to Craft, and darned fun to work with. Tricky, too; did we mention that? You can’t just clean your oil paint brushes in water, and it takes 24 hours at least for a layer to dry so you have to have commitment to paint in oils. Knitting lace is similar: it looks complicated to do (but isn’t always); it requires concentration; and it’s a ton of fun. But it’s tricky – if you lose count of your rows or stitches, you can get lost in the middle somewhere without the breadcrumbs to come home.
I would be mistaken to say that lace knitting and knit lace are the same; there’s a hot debate in the knitting community, (yes, Dear Reader, knitters have our quibbling over details just like readers and writers do). The difference, simply put, is lace knitting is putting holes in regular (plain) knitting, and knit lace is making lace with knitting needles.
Wow, that’s a really obvious distinction, huh? Not. 🙂
I have found that I like lace knitting. I have found knit lace more challenging, because it’s easier to mix oneself up; however, if you concentrate and start with a simple pattern with just a few row repeats, you’ll be off to the races in no time.
Lovely handwork! You are so talented. Your question makes me think, too. For one thing, I\’ve become a better cook than expected (while needing recipes to start, I can tweak the ingredients to our liking). Of course, my partner is understanding when things don\’t turn out as we hoped. 🙂 That gentle support does wonders for my willingness to experiment. Happy crafting!
Thanks, Darla! I love that shawl. It was fun to make and surprised me when I finished it, because it felt like it came up so quickly.
That\’s awesome on the cooking. I agree, having a good \”catcher\’s mitt\” who is supportive even of the ugly duckling phase of creativity is critical to success! 🙂