This is my first completed project post and my first big lace project! Yay!
I am very pleased to introduce: the Dancing Cranes Stole
And one more time in natural light:
This wonderful and elegant patten can be found on Elann.com. The designer, Shui Kuen, has a knack for creating knitted masterpieces. The stole is considered an intermediate level project. I've been knitting for less than a year and I think that this pattern can be tackled by an advanced/ambitious beginner.
Here are the changes I made:
The pattern calls for Elann Silken Kydd, a lace weight mohair/silk yarn. I used Lily Chin's Greenwich Village yarn. It is a worsted weight mohair/nylon/acrylic blend. I swatched and swatched some more and decided to use 6.5mm/US10 1/2 circular needles with a 40 inch cord. I suspect that 6mm/US10 needles would also work.
I intended to cast on 223 stitches, but for some reason I cast on 225. I discovered this after I completed 4 purl rows. My two extra stitches simply became an extra stitch on the end of each row.
I completed a total of two 28-row repeats and an addition half (14 rows) repeat. Keep in mind that a half repeat will leave a uneven edge. I don't mind it at all. I may have continued the last repeat to completion, but it turned out that 4 skeins of the yarn I used was the perfect amount for two and a half repeats.
The pattern instructions specifically mention cast on/bind off tension. It warns against binding off to tightly. When it came time to bind off, my tension was in fact tighter than the cast on. I realized that I preferred the tighter tension of the bind off compared to the cast on. I'm not particularly prone to loose cast ons, but I do wish I had cast on a wee bit more tightly. No worries though, I still love the finished product.
Blocked, the finished dimensions are 15'' wide by 64'' long. I expect it to lengthen with wear.
