Pattern: Ice Queen by the wonderful Romi
Yarn: Rowan's Kidsilk Haze. Colorway is Grace or # 580.
Needles: US 7 Options circular with 24 inch cord. My 16 inch bamboo circular was not pointy enough. US 5 tips on same cord and US 12 & 9 tip for cast off. I had issues...
Bling: Opaque glass seed beads. I had bead issues...
Time Served: Started for real: 12/27/07 Finished: 12/28/07
Mods: I knit the st st version, but used the beading from the garter stitch version. I did not count repeats and added the beads on each chart repeat. Don't hate me, Romi! I like how it looks with more beads and the beads helped me to make sure I was following the chart the right way.
I had some gauge issues and regret using the US 5 tips as the pattern calls for. Having a big head is hell. Plus I've got the round face, so I knew going in there would be issues down the road. Boy, was I right! I ended up having to use a US 12 tip to cast off on the edge that is around my face. The T3 stitch was tighter than it should be and caused my cast off issues. I skipped the picot edge cast off because of those gauge issues.
However, I did manage the beaded picot edged cast off on the cast on end of my Ice Queen using a US 9 tip. However, I feel like I did something wrong because it's a tiny bit curly. Not a deal breaker, but still...
My Beverly sent me the kidsilk haze, which I love far more than I should love anything, and some pink seed beads. Isn't she fab and lovely?! Yes, she is. Thanks again, Bev!
Speaking of Beads: My US 12 crochet hook (think tiny, people) would not fit through the pink seed beads. I looked in my bead kit and found some tigertail wire and tried to make it work, but the pink beads hated me and, after a couple of hours, the feeling was mutual. I will use them for something else, even if it kills me.
Enter the opaque beads. I liked how they looked with the pale pink yarn and they were slightly larger than the tiny pink beads. I was able to get them onto my bent piece of tigertail and off the wire and onto the yarn, so I was in business.
Blocking: What could be easier than laying out damp lace, pushing it into shape and walking away? I loved seeing how the scallops really took shape as I worked with the lace.
If you don't like waiting for your projects to dry, this may be the pattern for you.
Thoughts: Love the pattern.
My next one will be longer because I think I'll feel more comfy that way, but I need a thinner face before that will happen. Round faces may be a little disappointed when looking in the mirror with this one. (or is that just me? don't answer that!) Much better on chickies with great cheekbones.
I love that I was able to mix and match this pattern and get something that was unique to me. I think the clear beads with their slight color to them really suits the yarn without over powering the pale pink.
This was my first time using Kidsilk Haze and I can't wait to use it again. For me, Ice Queen was the perfect pattern to try mohair with because of how simple and easy the pattern is to knit. That simplicity allowed me to spend more time figuring out the yarn. I'm not sure I would have done so well with the knitting if the pattern and yarn both required my full attention. Normally, when I knit lace, the pattern gets most of my attention because I'm used to working with lace weight yarn. This was a nice change for me.
Oh, and I did not do the Russian Join because I couldn't see the plies of the yarn. Yes, I had my glasses on and they were clean. I don't think my lack of a Russian Join takes away from the piece. Although, I am disappointed that I wasn't able to give that method a try. Maybe next time.
One concern I had while knitting was how the color of the yarn was going to show the pattern of the lace.
Since I have dark hair, I didn't need to worry. The lace is shown well against my bottle brown hair. Even when the hair is a bit messy.
Shut up! It's a really long weekend over here and the cat doesn't care how I look as long as I get my cat chores done on time.
In this last photo, you can also see what I mean about feeling like that edge curled a bit. I need to figure out what I did wrong there at some point.
You can also see why my next one will be longer. Who knew I'd need a longer one when I've got a short neck? Hush up!
Tomorrow, end of the year love and some cat hair because everything is better with cat hair.
Happy Sunday, ya'll!
