Knit-a-long - Gwendolyn Lace Shawl

[knitter131]

I will be hosting a new knit-along for this beautiful lace shawl, posted in the free knitting patterns group.

This is the place for chatter, questions and pictures regarding this project.

The pattern is more of a “recipe” - I’ve already started it and might be able to help if you have questions. There is a small and large version, and the pattern is fully charted. It calls for 600/900 yards of lace weight yarn.

Everyone is welcome to join in, the more the merrier! Here’s a link to the pattern

Gwendolyn Lace Shawl

[knitter131]

I will be using Lion Brand Amazing Lace in white. One ball is enough even for the large shawl.

[FreedomLover]

I need to buy yarn for this, I'll let you know what I find at the LYS. I want to make the larger version and I love that the designer says this construction stays on the shoulders better.

[knitter131]

Great, I’m glad you will be joining us here! I will make a post later today with a start-up picture and some pointers - just things I noticed that may be helpful.

[knitter131]

For those of you who wish to start right away, just a few things:

There are no written instructions, it is only charts. The lace pattern is pretty simple, even though it seems complicated. Just the normal increases and decreases and YO’s.

On page 3, “Knitting”

All rows have a knit 2 at beginning and end for selvage - this does not show on the chart.

The pattern will repeat four times on the first chart beginning with the first row.

Odd rows always have a knit 1 between pattern repeats, beginning with the very first row. This does not show up in the chart, but once you get into the pattern rows, you will notice this gives you a YO, K1, YO to indicate the separation of each repeat. As I go along, I’m now going to place markers to indicate each row repeat.

Even rows are all the same. K2, purl across to last 2 sts, K2



If you are a fan of Knit Companion, even the android or the free version would help navigate through the charts.

Here is my first photo, after row 28 of the first chart.

[FreedomLover]

knitter131 Yes, I like the casual way we do KAL's here, no pressure. It's all good things today, just not much knitting.

[pinesprairie]

I'm so glad you are feeling better knitter131! I agree with your DH, you should take it a bit easy.

I'm in awe that everyone making this is using lace. It's such a pretty pattern and all these pictures show such nice work.

I'm enjoying watching the progress!

[knitter131]

Thanks, pinesprairie - it’s a relief, and I really do feel back to normal today.

[KnitsWithHorses]

I'm in! I'll have to use fingering weight yarn but I think it will come out fine. Maybe I'll end up making the smaller one since my gauge will be larger. Ordinarily I would definitely do the larger one. That's the nice thing about shawls, fit isn't much of a problem so there's often room for play.

[knitter131]

Oh YAY! I will try to keep a little ahead in case there are any other areas of confusion. Anxious to see your yarn choice, and how it works up with the fingering weight. I don’t have a size 2-1/2 needle, so I’m using size 3.

[KnitsWithHorses]

I'm also doing a test knit right now so I won't be going too fast so I'm sure you'll stay ahead of me. I'm not a super fast knitter anyway. Lol I'm trying to post the yarn I chose but my wifi is being a poop.

[KnitsWithHorses]

Ready to cast on. 😁

[knitter131]

Looks beautiful, a rich bronze color 😊😊

[KnitsWithHorses]

knitter131 my lighting was not great. It's actually a sort of blush pink.

[FreedomLover]

I bought this Katia Air Lux for my Gwendolyn, it's a heavier weight and drapes beautifully. I'll try it with a 4mm needle and see how it goes.

[FreedomLover]

It is very pretty, I think it will make a wonderful shawl.

[KnitsWithHorses]

Oh that's going to be beautiful!

[FreedomLover]

Thank you KnitsWithHorses, I think it will.

[FreedomLover]

I've finished the first 26 rows and need to start dinner. I'm babysitting grands tomorrow so I doubt I get to work on this again until Friday.

[FreedomLover]

US 6, 4mm. The yarn label recommended 4 or 5 and I thought 6 would bring out the lace.

[Char]

This is beautiful! I love the sheen this yarn has.

[FreedomLover]

Thank you, I was pretty taken with it when I found it at the LYS.

[Nitperl]

I've been thinking about a lace shawl for ages, and this seems a good pattern. (I've downloaded it, and read the tips and instructions.) It doesn't seem too difficult! Famous last words...

[FreedomLover]

Welcome to the KAL, we're glad to have you're here.

[knitter131]

Hi, Nitperl and welcome to our KAL! Although I haven’t posted a second photo, I’m now past row 50, so if you have any questions, just shout out. I’m really glad you’ve joined us 😊😊

[Char]

This is beautiful yarn!

[Nitperl]

I'm not very good at this (posting with a photo); the photo is of Jameison and Smith yarn, which I bought a couple of months ago. I think you would call it "fingering weight".

[knitter131]

You may wish to go up a needle size for fingering weight yarn. I’m guessing it will have a better lacy look and drape with larger needles.

[Nitperl]

Thank you, everybody. My computer's playing up, so I'll leave it at that.

[knitter131]

Just completed 60 rows, just a progress photo. I’m really liking this pattern 😊😊

[Kathy7661]

Wow, that's really pretty!

[knitter131]

This pattern is much easier than it looks, with mostly normal lace stitches. It took my breath away when I saw it, so I just had to make it. I’m particularly glad to have others joining me in this KAL, it makes it easier to keep me motivated to complete a project.

[rkennell]

So pretty!

[Nitperl]

I cast on today, and so far am up to row 15.


From this wool:



Needle size 4.5 mm. That's big enough for me! I wish I knew how to get rid of the attachments below...

[Kathy7661]

Very pretty!

[FreedomLover]

This looks great so far, I hope you are enjoying the pattern.

[Nitperl]

Thank you, pinesprairie. I'll try out your suggestion next time.

FreedomLover - see my post!

[rkennell]

Ya'll are seriously testing my resolve!! I've got a sweater that needs finishing and an upcoming Spin-de-fleece I'm spearheading, so I need to just learn to enjoy this one vicariously! Not to mention, it's canning season and we plan to travel to northern FL to visit my parents next week. Lots of time to knit on the road, but I really, really need to get the sweater done, so maybe I'll just watch and enjoy!
I did download the pattern for future reference, though.

[rkennell]

Thanks, everyone--I may end up joining you soon. I am on my way to FL today with my hubby to visit my parents, so I hope to get in a serious amount of knitting on my sweater during travel and in the evenings while at my folks.

[KnitsWithHorses]

Have a safe trip and enjoy your visit. My daughters and grands have all visited Florida and love it there. I'm only working on my shawl a very little bit at a time so I'm sure I'll still be plugging away when you come on board. lol I do love travel knitting but I usually only do socks or hats so that they are easily portable even on walks.

[rkennell]

KnitsWithHorses - I'm still in awe of you being able to knit while walking! I haven't figured out how to do that!

[Nitperl]

I got to row 23, and then found I'd made a mistake. Tried to fix it, but nothing doing. So I redid the whole thing, and this time I put in safety rows.

I'm now up to row 40. Not the sort of knitting you pick up and put down. In fact, I worked in silence today! Yes, I am enjoying the pattern, but it's testing me; only done a chart once before.

[knitter131]

Nitperl I also had to rip and start over the first time through. I learned to use charts about 18 months ago, and now they are my choice over written instructions. It’s next to impossible for me to make a correction in lace work, and a lifeline has often helped me through.

I agree that this pattern needs full attention and for me, this means counting back on my purl rows to make sure I didn’t miss something. I. Haven’t worked on the shawl for a few days, as I’ve been under the weather, but I hope to do some more today.

I’d enjoy seeing a picture of your progress - the pattern looks beautiful in the yarns we’ve all chosen.

Good luck, and here’s hoping no more frogging for this group!

[KnitsWithHorses]

Good reminder to use lifelines! I haven't put one in yet but I definitely will before the end of the first chart and then probably every ten rows or so. I'm another fan of chart knitting. I'm a visual person so they work well for me. Knit Companion really is invaluable with charts like this because it gives you a "highlighter" line to mark which row you are on and a vertical line to mark which stitch you are on if you have to stop mid-row. That's in my free Android version. I paid for it a few years back but didn't end up using it for a long time and it lapsed. Haven't decided yet if I'll go back to the paid version or not.

[rkennell]

I put almost all of my patterns on Knit Companion! I love it. I do have the Android paid version but I think it's well worth it!