There are some projects that never seem to end and others that end too soon. When the final stitch of this incomparable design fell of my needles, I felt truly bereft.
There will be other Nieblings in the future, assuming I can get Harry to lend me a few patterns, but I wonder if I will achieve the rapture I experienced knitting this design.
For those of you who tuned in late, the yarn used was Yarn Place's inestimable Gentle (Dark Ruby) on #2.5 needles. I did not change needle size and I still cannot figure out the reference to the "binding" that is supposed to occur at the bottom of the leaves. Gentle's stretchiness probably absorbed whatever distortion might be evident with a less elastic yarn.
The finished size is 52"-squareish.
One word of warning about the yarn--it bled a lot. Even three rinsings with citric acid (don't care for the smell of vinegar) didn't stop the red from streaming out of the shawl. I don't really care, as both the yarn and the color were fabulous, but probably don't want to wear this over a white dress in a rainstorm. Fortunately, except for my wedding gown, I don't own a white dress and I don't think I will be getting married again any time soon.
P.S.: If you decide to knit this, buy LOTS of pins for blocking!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Lyra Complete! (sniffle)
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55 comments:
Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful. I love it in red. The Gentle is lovely. I must ask my obligatory question re: Lyra. How big is yours?
btw--I think that's why I keep dragging my feet about Lyra. I don't want it to be 'over'. Yes, there's more Nieblings, but only one Lyra.
Thanks so much for posting yours. Awe-inspiring.
After looking at the stunning pictures. Your Lyra is one I wish I could have knitted and turned out as marvelously as yours.
OMG! You're the queen of lace! Arlene
Hi, everyone, do not do this shawl, Fleegle is wandering around the house sort of moping because it is over.
Absolutely beautiful! To bad that the pattern can´t be find anymore. I wish I had it..........
It is truly lovely!!! I am going to have to find a pattern for Christmas!! How much yarn did it take and what are the dimensions? Any suggestions on reading the pattern and planning this project?
Hey Fleegle; this is exquisite! What is the finished blocked size?
It is absolutely gorgeous! I'm so impressed! Make sure Harry doesn't steal it. :D
So beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, and awesome. I can see why you were left grieving at the end of this one.
It is a beautiful piece and you did an awesome job! no wonder you were so quite!....I have always wanted to make my next one as a triangle I. Looking at your pictures I think I have an idea.......we'll see what the spreadsheet says.
Wow.
My plain stockinette sock and I shall sit here speechless, drooling.
Wow...just wow. As usual, I am stunned and breathless by your knitting abilities. And here I was, all proud of myself for making it through seven repeats of the Print O' the Waves Stole. Thank you for allowing me to regain my humility.
That is just, just gorgeous. Really beautiful!
What a sight! just fabulous. How do you obtain the pattern and is it doable for an intermediate lace knitter?
All I can think of to say is WOW!
CA
So, so beautiful! I want to make me a Lyra someday (if only I can find the pattern for a reasonable price).
I'm amazed at your skills, and the beauty of that shawl.
I am speechless. That is just gorgeous.
It's fabulous. Maybe give yourself some time before you start another big project. After this one, I'd beware the anticlimax effect.
Red seems to bleed a lot more than other colors, regardless of fiber, doesn't it?
wow!! yet another magnificent piece! kudos on the beautiful knitting. As to the color running, mfgs. tend to overdye dark colors in order to make them look super-saturated and attractive to the consumer. Next time you wash a dark color, do it with Synthrapol,(www.dharmatrading.com, NAYY) it stips off all the unattached dye molecules and you don't have to rinse ad nauseum.
Dear fleegle,
There are not enough words to express how spectacular your Lyra is! It is stunning! I gape, I swoon, I think you have every reason to miss knitting on this beautiful shawl. I felt the same when I knit mine. Granted it was my first Niebling, but there is just something about how it's constructed and the satisfaction of seeing that pattern emerge. It just pulls you along and is FUN to knit. I wish everything was as enjoyable. Congratulations on beautiful knitting.
Oh, it is lovely--fabulous work!
Incredible. Truly. Breath-takingly so.
oh, must search Nieblings.
Absolutely lovely!
Beautiful!!!!
That is Beautiful.. definitely a piece of art
Oh My Gosh, this is the most beautiful bit of knitting that I've ever seen, EVER. Thanks for the pix.
beautiful Fleegle and very stunning in red... I know what you mean when you say some patterns go on for ever and some finish too soon....
Wow, it's absolutely gorgeous.
That's fantastic!!! How do you wear such a thing, and still see how beautiful the pattern is? I would use it as a table cloth, I think. :o)
Dear Sharon--
Lyra is out-of-print and only available on eBay at exhorbitant prices. If you do find a copy, I don't think it is beyond an intermediate knitter. there's nothing difficult in the pattern, even though it looks complex.
That is stunning. The colour is amazing and it makes me want to cast on for another Lyra immediately!!
Wow. And wow again.
Tres gorgeous! I love that rich ruby colour, too. Reds seem to have a habit of bleeding. I even heard of someone who, when knitting red KSH, had it come off on her hands and the needles! I really want to make Lyra but am still trying to bid successfully on a pattern!
Wow!
I am knocked off of my feet! I bow to you - you are the lace queen.
Sue Little
Little Knits
Amazing! I've got to get my hands on a Niebling pattern!
Oh so, so pretty! What a wonderful job!
I am glad you mentioned about the bleeding.... I have a bunch of YP Gentle in that same color waiting to be knitted up... I guess I won't be wearing a nice white shirt with that yarn! ;-)
Hmmm. I can't decide between "breathtakingly beautiful" or "completely stunning"
I guess I'll just have to go with both!
Beautiful. That's all I can say.
It is just absolutely spectacular! Could very well be the most gorgeous piece of lace I've ever seen.
http://tiaknits.typepad.com
This pattern and colour are a true embodiment of your knitting passion and skills...are you still sniffling?
Breathlessly beautiful.
Your Lyra is lovely. However, the reason I am here to comment is selfish. I wanted to email you, but I don't know how.
I was inspired by Sheri of the Loopy Ewe to hold a Random Act of Kindness contest on my blog too. It started out quite small this morning. I figured I would have about a half dozen comments and someone would win the $25 gift certificate I offered. But then, the first commenterer offered two skeins of his yarn and a Myrna Stahman book and then the next poster offered a bag from her Etsy shop, and, in order not to look too lame on my very own blog, I threw in a couple of skeins of alpaca that I bought for some luxury socks, and well, I need more publicity now.
I check your blog regularly and I know you have quite a following. Can you help get the word out? http:pencraftco.wordpress.com
Thanks!
Long time lurker here who just had to come out of hiding to say 'Wow!' Your Lyra is absolutely stunning. Thanks so much for sharing such a beautiful creation with all of us.
Honeybee is lovely to knit.... I had a little falter before starting the beeswarm section as I don't think it's clear from the charts that you drop previous yarnovers, but once I read the longhand it was np....
Your Lyra is stunning!!! I aimagine the you had better luck in the blocking because of the yarn. I used cotton and I wasn't able to block it as heavily as I would have if I had used yarn.
That is some kind of tremendous. So pretty and the intense color just makes this piece.
Bravo!
It's stunning! I love how the color brings out the pattern even more than in the white version! It's truly a work of art!
*thud* Oops, fell off my chair. Stunned by the pretty pretty lace! I do like the red too. Although if it keeps up with the bleeding, it might eventually be pink....still gorgeous!
Wow! That's a awesome shawl! I love it!
Hi - I was just randomly surfing the blog-sphere and I had to stop to comment. Stunning shawl - absolutely stunning!!
I just left a whole long comment, and then Blogger told me my password was wrong, and then it told me I had 'already performed that action' -- but no comment ever appeared; but it erased my old one. So here we go again! :-)
Your Lyra is just Wow. Wow. So lovely on so many levels. And I *love* the color.
About the bleeding issue (sounds ominous) -- I had the same problem with some alpaca laceweight, but fortunately happened to get a tip from Jennifer of VanCalCar acres -- to rinse the yarn with dilute ammonia, which 'flushes' off excess dye which is not tightly bound to the yarn; then it stops bleeding. It's chronicled in this blog post: http://hitherandyarn.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/peppermint-to-autumn/
(scroll down), or if you're interested, I can forward Jennifer's emails about it to you. I just feel more secure knowing the yarn is colorfast now!
Thanks for posting the Fleegle-ized Saarje's booties, too! I did the same thing (seamless, two circs) except neglecting to write down what I did; the result was that the second bootie was Not Like the first one. So I'm glad you had more foresight than I did, and the generosity to share the mods. (I also knit them in stockinette, which looked very nice for the body of the bootie, but in my hands did end up significantly smaller in size.)
Thanks again!
Okay, I know I'm tuning in waaaay late, but that is quite possibly the singlemost breathtaking piece of lace I have ever seen, ever. Wow. I need to remember to check what you're up to more often!
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