First we have a picture of the finished Rose of England flat on my messy floor. The gauge is there, so you can compare the size with yesterday's pre-blocked picture. I blocked it to 68", but it could definitely have gone bigger.
A close-up of the edging. Abigail asked what the crochet hook was for. Some knitted lace edges are finished with a crochet bind off that uses a crochet chain for loops. Each one of those loops is then pinned when you block the piece. This pattern has 40 repeats of the outer edge motif, each of which has 8 loops. So that means 320 pins. My fingers really hurt from pushing all those pins in.
And here's the beauty shot.
Pattern: Rose of England Tea Cloth (knit as shawl)
Source: The Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting by Marianne Kinzel
Needle size: 6
Yarn: Misti Baby Alpaca Laceweight in Lipstick
Wow! Wow! Wow! Good choice of colour ... definitely should be in red! Did you just push the pins into your wooden flooring?
You cracked me up by the mismatched socks idea ... but unfortunately, the two lone socks I have now, one is for my sock pal, the other is for my husband ... I don't think they are going to like the idea of having mismatched socks! hahaha ...
Have a nice weekend.
WOW - that is an amazing piece of work. So beautiful!!
Posted by: Jackie at February 25, 2006 2:00 PMJaw Droppingly Beautiful. Just. Wow.
You are so fast! That'd take me a year!
BTW, FTA clearance is now 50% off (that back section near the books). Still have a bit of the NoNo Kitty lace weight left, hehehehe. And two skeins of silk laceweight. I'm trying to avoid taking it home. Lucky for me, it is pink and I'm not on a pink kick.
Posted by: freecia at February 25, 2006 2:36 PMWow is right! So cool to see the blocking before and after.
Posted by: Annie at February 25, 2006 2:41 PMThat is un-freaking-believable.
Today at the shop I had 3 people telling me they will eventually get me to knit lace. NO way! I don't have the patience or focus!
But that's awesome
Posted by: Scout at February 25, 2006 6:38 PMthat's absolutely gorgeous. you did a wonderful job! it's stunning. i really need to get my hands on that book - i love all those delicate, intricate lace patterns. yum!
Posted by: kristen at February 25, 2006 7:27 PMI am very impressed - and the choice of color really makes it stand out. Congrats on the gold!
Posted by: Joanne at February 25, 2006 9:32 PMThat is amazing!
I showed Erik so he could see how much knitting you did in two weeks and he wanted to know if you would give it to us. He really likes it! I guess I should learn to knit crazy lace. Not in 16 days though.
Posted by: Abigail at February 25, 2006 10:01 PMI am in awe--seriously. You've done a phenomenal job. The blocking alone slays me :)
Posted by: toni at February 25, 2006 10:55 PMOh my you did it! It is amazing! You deserve a gold!!!
Posted by: elizabeth at February 26, 2006 3:40 AMYay!!! She takes the gold! I'm telling you, if I made something like that, it would be hanging on my wall. Of course now that I see how large the finished product is, I realize I would not be able to afford a frame for it!
Posted by: Juls at February 26, 2006 9:43 AMCan I add another "Wow!" to all the others? Beautiful job, and very gold-worthy!
Posted by: Jane at February 26, 2006 11:53 AMThat is beautiful - just beautiful!! I love the red also....
Posted by: rho at February 26, 2006 1:42 PMcongrats on the gold, it's exquisite.Can't wait to see what you do with the Cherry Tree Hill laceweight.
Posted by: Hollis at February 26, 2006 4:09 PMYeah, alot of work! It's sure worth it tho, I'm sure. Will you do it again, I mean another big lace project? Cuz we fans love it!
Posted by: Terry at February 27, 2006 5:15 AMAlright, so all your other adoring fans have said it already, but... bloody hell, that's fabulous!!!! I'm stunned to realise how big it is: following it's progress, I thought maybe at most two feet across, but that thing is a monster.
Posted by: Gryphon Perkins at February 27, 2006 10:13 AMOh it's beautiful, I can't believe you made it. I think I'm most impressed with your finish then everyone elses', not diminishing other's accomplishments, but I know how time consuming these projects of Kinzel are! Wow!
Posted by: Rebekah at February 27, 2006 1:03 PMYou are amazing. I can't believe you did all that in 16 days. It's just gorgeous. Congratulations.
Posted by: spinnity at February 27, 2006 5:01 PMUnbelieveably beautiful. And don't you love the magic of blocking? It's a pain while you're doing it but in the end it's all worth it. Lovely lovely lovely. A gold medal performance.
Posted by: Janice at March 1, 2006 1:18 PMholy bajeezers!!!! this is b-e-a-utiful!!!! i think i only want to do lace stitching since seeing this!!!!
Posted by: candice at March 1, 2006 10:26 PM