Woo hoo! I’m in the 60’s for rounds (out of 180) and totally loving Lyra. The following graphic shows approximately where I am so far (dotted circle). Talk about slow!  I really don’t know how Soo finished this in two weeks. I would have to quit my job, leave my husband and abandon my kids to finish this in two months!  Hmmmmmm…….nah! ;)Â
October 20, 2007
October 10, 2007
From Susan — We Walk Among You
‘Those who walk among you’ are knitters who have discovered Herbert Niebling and are now obsessed! Apparently there is an underground cult of sorts of Niebling Followers — who knew? I would never have heard of Niebling myself except for the influence of fellow bloggers. Soo left a nice little comment about my Hemlock Ring Throw so I innocently clicked on her blog, not knowing that it would change me forever. I found this:
My jaw still hurts from hitting the table. All I knew was that I had to make me one of these! I am not much of a lace knitter but decided to not let that be a barrier! ;) The most immediate barrier was finding the pattern. Niebling died over 40 years ago. This pattern, called Lyra, was only printed twice. The most recent was in a 1986 Burda magazine, European issue. Soo kindly provided many details and I found the magazine in an ebay auction that very day. It had to be mine! I paid way too much for it but it was worth every penny. It arrived last Saturday. It is written in Dutch, I bought it from a woman in Germany, and it included an English translation. All the charts are done using Niebling’s unique charting style.Â
I started my Lyra already. I laid out my knitting supplies like an operating room: yarn (Fino Laceweight Alpaca with a Twist — check), needles (Size 2.5 mm — check), reading glasses (check), small crochet hook (check), valium (sorry — all out!), bead mat (check), lamp (check). I used the Emily Ocker cast on and for the first several rows had the highest anxiety going! I was so worried I would drop a stitch — then I did and actually fixed it :), so I am off and running.Â
Here is my progress so far:
I am not far enough into it to be at the hard part but so far I have not had any trouble. I have put many hours into it so far and it is still very TINY, though it already has over 300 sts! Soo finished hers in two weeks. That’s right: TWO WEEKS! I will not even attempt to match her pace.Â
Because I can’t work on Lyra in anything but the most optimal conditions, I also started this (Rowan’s Calmer “Loll”):
I am making mine in ivory (Rowan Calmer in “Drift”) and I have about 5-6 inches of the back done; all of the fringes complete — whew, are they ever slow! I’ll post a picture later. Why a summer sweater?? Who the heck knows! It’s something to work on as my take along project.
PS in response to pjknits: I buy 99.9% of my yarn from my LYS’s — I find almost all the yarn I want locally. If there is something I absolutely must have and it is not readily available (i.e., the Kauni yarn or the Swedish Bohus kits) then I shop on line.  I know a lot of people do not have access to the quality of yarn shops available in the Twin Cities. We are tres lucky here!
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