Kiri Shawl 琦麗蕾絲披肩

Yarn: Tess' Designer Yarns Superwash Lace (100% merino), unknown colorway - 1 skein (500yd [459m] / 50g)
Pattern: All Tangled Up (TKA Project #18)
Needles: Addi Turbo US size 4 (3.5 mm) / 32" (80 cm) for lace, and US size 10.5 (6.5 mm) for bind-off
Size: 36" wingspan x 17.5" center length before blocking, 52" wingspan x 26" center length after blocking
Duration: 2007/04/01 - 2007/04/13

線材: Tess' Designer Yarns Superwash Lace (100% 美麗諾), 色號不詳 - 1 綑 (500yd [459m] / 50g)
圖樣: All Tangled Up (TKA Project #18)
針號: 3.5 mm/80 cm 輪針織主體, 6.5 mm 輪針收針
尺寸: 上寬92cm 中央長45cm(定型前) 上寬132cm 中央長66cm(定型後)
製作日期: 2007/04/01 - 2007/04/13



This is my second lace shawl. After just finishing Shetland Triangle, this one felt familiar and easy. The construction follows the same formula, just the stitch counts and the lace pattern are different. It is a simple lace, easily memorized after a few repeats. Although it was not a difficult knit, I did not dare to stare at the TV while I knit this one. Ripping back lace is no fun at all. I would rather go slow than make a mistake.

這是我第二條蕾絲披肩, 織過一條雪特蘭後, 這條織起來感覺很簡單, 都是一樣的公式, 只是針數蕾絲花樣不同而已. 這個蕾絲也不難, 織了幾次重複後就背下來了, 不過因為是蕾絲, 怕織錯不好拆, 還是乖乖的專心織, 不敢邊看電視邊織.



Since I only bought one skein of this yarn, my plan was to try to use it up. When I first started, I was amazed at how little yarn it took to make the initial few repeats. But Shetland Triangle taught me that the yarn would go really fast toward the last few repeats and the edging. After I finished the 9th repeat of the 10-row lace pattern, I started weighing the yarn ball at each 1o-row repeat - which used about 5 g. When I finished 12 repeats and only had 11 g of yarn left, I knew it was time to start the edging. Still worried that I might not have enough, I started weighing it every two rows. The good thing is I have more than enough - there's still 4 g left after bind-off. I am glad that I used the scale to help me estimate and decide when to stop.

因為這線只買了一綑, 一開始便打算盡量把它用完. 剛開始織, 覺得這細線用起來還蠻省的耶! 好像都沒有減少... 織過雪特蘭後知道最後那幾段用線會用的很兇, 織完9次十段花樣重複後, 我就開始每十段秤一次重量 - 每十段用掉 5 g. 當我織完12次重複時只剩下 11 g, 我就開始織邊啦! 每兩段再秤一次, 很怕線不夠來收針. 每兩段還是只用掉 1 g. 最後收針收完時剩下 4 g ... 真是ㄗㄞ的度度好... :D



The bind-off on my Shetland Triangle was too tight, I could not pull out those sharp points along the bias edges, which was very disappointing. Thus this time around, I decided to use needles 3 sizes larger (US size #7) to do the bind-off, thinking that it should be enough... Well, the result was as follows -

上次雪特蘭收針收的太緊, 尖角拉不出來. 這次想說, 那我拿大三號的針來收, 應該可以了吧?! 結果如下 -



The maddening thing is, if there were no sharp points at all, then I might just give up and try again on my next lace shawl. But do you see those few sharp points along the right edge? I was not happy about this... the look of it just drove me nuts... I slept on it, woke up the next morning determined to make it right. I ripped out the bind-off, one stitch at a time. It took me almost two hours just to undo the bind-off. What's one to do when 3-size-larger needles did not work? I grabbed a US size #10.5 from my tool box (note the lace was knit in size #4)... If I still couldn't get those sharp points with these huge needles, I would give up forever, maybe hire someone to do the bind-off for me next time... Fortunately, I am satisfied with the final result... :)

氣人的是, 如果都沒有尖角也就罷了. 偏偏右邊有, 左邊沒有... 這樣能看嗎? 火大, 把收針那一段全拆了!! 不是ㄙㄨㄚ的一排扯掉喔!! 我是一針一針拆回去的, 花了我將近兩個鐘頭, 拆完腰酸背痛, 眼睛都快脫窗啦! 針大三號(大 1 mm)還不行是嗎? 那10.5號針(大 3 mm)總行了吧? 尖角再拉不出來的話, 我就放棄了, 下次請高手(還是"鬆"手?)來幫我收針好了... 還好這次結果勉強可以接受... :)