Lace

I started my first lace piece last night. (That's what happens when I leave the current project at work.) It's a simple diamond pattern rectangular shawl. The edging is pretty basic (fagoting?) but figuring out how it attaches after the fact will be my biggest challenge. The diamond pattern works up fairly easily. It's a ten row repeat, repeated 36 times. The diamond pattern in those ten rows is worked over about 10 stitches and repeated 12 times across the width. I finished the first ten rows last night. I would have finished more but, when I started, I missed a stitch and had to pull out three rows when I discovered it. I'm using Knitpicks Gossamer yarn in Sweat Pea (which is a variegated pink-purple lace weight merino wool) on size 7 circular needles. The pattern is from the Victorian lace book.

I am working on deciphering the lace book. It is confusing in that it tells you how to work your corners. Then gives you the notes about the pattern. THEN it tells you how to work the center. All of the materials and gage info, and diagrams of the starting points are in the left margin. I'm not sure where it tells you how to join the edging but it says join it with 'this' type of join and then you have to flip to the back of the book for those directions. It doesn't progress in a logical fashion but I'll figure it out. I'm always glad for a challenge.