theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Dear Soo,

I would like to be able to say that your fabulous knitting inspired me to push myself to knitting limits as yet unknown.  But it was not inspiration so much as sheer green-eyed monstrous envy that forced me to reach for the stars. 

You kindly commented on my Hemlock Ring, lo those many months ago.  I innocently clicked on your name to check out your blog and BAM!  Hit between the eyes with a baseball bat.  There was Lyra, laid out beautifully on your dining room table, waiting to be given to Mom.  I did not want to knit Lyra.  I wanted to own Lyra.  I wanted YOUR Lyra.  I wanted Soo’s Lyra on MY dining room table.  But, I knew better than to ask :).  

I considered befriending Soo’s Mom (“Hi, my name is Lv2knit.  My, what a lovely table covering.  I believe it will fit in my purse is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”).  That seemed even more far fetched, so there I was — on my own, embarking on the Niebling Quest for the Holey Grail.

As I look back on my journey, I see road signs along the way:

Plus

…leads to Lyra.

Yep, these recent FOs helped prepare me for my lil Niebling.  I had never really knitted true lace before and the Peacock Feathers Shawl helped me sort through some of the issues I might encounter (does the word ‘lifeline’ ring a bell?).  My Hemlocks were knit in the same way as Lyra: Emily Ocker cast on, from the center out, crochet bindoff.   So I was unwittingly taking baby steps to my goal.  And now my Lyra is finished:

Here is a picture of The Blob:

Oops — wrong blob! (That was for Lorraine’s benefit!)  I love the hand sticking out of The Blob.

Here’s the real blob:

Blocking this baby was an all-bay uster-bay!  2-1/2 hours of back-breaking work!  I’m not sure why, but my version is tiny compared to the original — about 37″ square instead of 49″!  C’est la vie.

The blocking stage:

So many pins, so much time!  Hard to get good pictures of white on white AND very hard to see what I was doing at the time (note to self: never block a giant white doily on a giant white pad!):

Now the quest is over and I have my own Lyra on my own table:

The quest now seems worth it, aching back and all — but I don’t know if I could do another, at least for a while! 

Thank you, Soo, for your support and inspiration!!

PS: Eldest daughter finally woke up this morning, so I proudly pointed out that I had finished Lyra.  Her response, “You made that?”  “Yes.”  “When did you work on that?”  An observant lil sucker, isn’t she??

Whew!  I made it through that one!  I found the smallest little problem on my lace knitting: a strand of yarn was split a row or two back.  No problem, says me to self.  I’ll drop it down and fix it with a crochet hook.  What a maroon! 

By the end of that little decision, I had unravelled 8 sts down about 6 rows (the sts betw the green headed pin and the black pin).  And then tried to ladder it back up with all the multiple yarnovers.  Sally is much better at this than me, that’s for sure.  This picture is NOT a picture of the offending area, but rather one I kept in front of me as a guide.

At one point I was an eighth of a second away from going back to my lifeline in defeat (the black thread in the picture).  That represents over 15,000 sts and hours/days of knitting — I forced myself to keep trying.  I did indeed fix the lil sucker and am plowing onward.  No doubt the stress took a few days off my life! 

I am sharing my travails here because you are the only people who might care and/or understand.  Muggles just stare!