E is for Estonian Lace

Before my wedding, I had planned to make the Lily of the Valley Shawl in wedding white from Interweave’s Lace Style book. It’s based on a popular  Estonian Lace pattern lily of the valley. The stitch requires nupps which are an Estonian version of bobbles. In the lily of the valley pattern, they  look a lot like the stalks of white bell shaped flowers that I remember dotting a patch of my parents’ house. Since I wound up with a champagne colored dress with grey beading, I abandoned this shawl which looked funny next to the dress in favor of a less design intense pattern in charcoal grey. (Unfortunately, as a result, the shawl still lingers in my UFO pile in hopes that I will eventually finish it.) 

Thanks to Kathy at Grumperina, I discovered Lace Knitting of Estonia by Nancy Bush. The book explains that nupps were used to show that the piece was handmade and to add weight since the lace was sold by weight. Since getting this book, I have renewed zeal for nupps. I have started three other lace projects, of which one is finished. 

 

Triinu Shawl With Estonian Nupps

 

Estonian Lace Shawl on the Needles - Brooklyn Handspun Yarn

Lace Scarf in Blue Alpaca Fingering Weight

(Note: While Evelyn Clark’s Swallowtail Shawl requires nupps as part of the lily of the valley border, I didn’t have enough yarn to make them. As a result, this shawl isn’t included in this list.)

Have you tried Estonian Lace yet? Please let me know. I strongly recommend the book!

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Swallowtail Shawl in Teal is Finished!

 

Lace Detail-Ella Rae Lace Merino

The Swallowtail Shawl in Teal is finished. I loved the Ella Rae Lace Merino. It was a very springy yarn which coordinated well with the time of year. 

After finishing 6 sets of repeats for the main part of the shawl, I decided that the 1 skein that I had wasn’t going to make as big a shawl as I had anticipated so I frogged it. 

In addition, I didn’t realized that the Ella Rae Lace Merino was really a fingering weight not a lace weight as a result, I had a few stressful periods near the end where I resorted to weighing my ball of unknit yarn to determine how to finished the shawl. 

Due to a limited amount of merino, I decided with the help of the team at The Point and fellow knitters not to make the nupps for the Lily of the Valley pattern and had to eliminate rows 13-22 of the pattern as well. That said, the shawl measured 30 inches by 60 inches and looks wonderful!

 

Swallowtail Shawl in Teal Ella Rae Lace Merino Blocked

 

Swallowtail Shawl in Ella Rae Lace Merino Border

 

Swallowtail Shawl in Teal Ella Rae at The Point

Valentine’s Day Stash Enhancement-Ella Rae Lace Merino

Ella Rae Lace Merino in Teal from The Point

For Valentine’s Day, I took advantage of The Point’s President’s Day Sale and treated myself to a hank of Ella Rae Lace Merino in their teal color way. I had been eying the yarn which is 100% Italian merino and dyed wonderful shades of blues and greens which seem to be popping up in the stores along Fifth Avenue as they migrate towards spring. 

Maybe it’s the desire for something new as spring peaks through the dull winter weather that’s attracting me to these colors that I don’t often wear.

Or maybe it’s dreams of the Carribean waters that we haven’t visited this winter…

Island dreaming - Nevis in Winter

Whatever the impulse, I bought the last teal hank. I hoped that it would be enough for a tank top but alas the hank has 460 yards which is fine for a smaller project, it’s not enough to try a cami given the fine weight of the yarn. 

Therefore, I decided to make a small shawl that I can wear through the changing seasons that can give my wardrobe a boost. I am using the Swallowtail Lace Shawl which I have been thinking about making for a while. Evelyn Clark designed the pattern and having made her Shetland Triangle, I know that she’s a great lace designer!

Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail Lace Shawl Using Ella Rae Lace Merino in Teal

This pattern incorporates the Lily of the Valley pattern at the border so that it involves nupps but at this point, I’m experienced so that doesn’t seem like it will be a challenge.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Shetland Triangle in Linen Finished

My Shetland Triangle is finished! Once I got the hang of the lace pattern, it was a fun knit. It uses the Fir Stitch which causes bubbles in the fabric. It’s important to soak your finished shawl for at least twenty minutes to soften the knitting so that it can be flattened.  Since I had used linen which was less flexible, I let my shawl soak longer.

Here’s a shot of the shawl pinned and drying.

Back side of Evelyn Clark's Shetland Triangle - Fir Stitches Bubble

Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark in Wrap Style Finished

Surprise Birthday Present – Evelyn Clark’s Shetland Triangle

One of the members of our Saturday Knitting Group at The Point is an avid fan of lace shawls. She tends to use luscious wools that many of us drool over. As a gift, she had knit Evelyn Clark’s Shetland Triangle from Interweave’s Wrap Style in a lavender cashmere. The clincher for me was the fact that she knitted it in a week!

 

Since I have a friend’s copy of the book lingering on my shelf on a long term lend, I thought that this would make a great present. I need a present and have some wonderful moss green linen that I bought on Memorial Day at Purl by the Sea. It’s Berroco’s NaturLin which is 45% linen and 55% rayon. I have 5 hanks or 575 yards, slightly more than the pattern calls for.

 

I am amazed at how fast it’s knitting up! The pattern is a relatively simple repeat that has five different changes for the first few stitches. Since it’s a shawl, I didn’t make a swatch since if it blocks out larger, it won’t make a difference. I’m using a size 4 needle which is two sizes down from the label.

 

The pattern has 100 rows but my knitting seems to be using less yarn so that I’ve knitted about 70 rows with one ball of linen. I plan to keep knitting until I have used about 3 skeins and then I will finish it off.

 

Berroco NaturLin From Purl By the Sea