A long time coming

I recently cast off a project that has been on the needles since June of 2010. I think anyone who has been knitting for a while (almost 10 years for me) has these linger projects. Ones that get picked up, a few rows added, then put back down over and over. Mine is Scarf with the No. 20 Edging from "The knitted Lace Pattern Book," 1850 from the book Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby. It's a book with extremely beautiful lace based on traditional Victorian patterns. 

I started this project right after I started working at Yarnia and made my first custom yarn blend.  I used one strand of silk, one strand of cashmere, and two strands of bamboo. Each strand was very fine, so the overall weight is probably a light fingering. 

The construction of this stole is quite unusual. The first scalloped edge is knit from bottom up like a skinny scarf. Then, stitches are picked up along the long non-scalloped edge and the middle panel is knit at a 90 degree angle from the edge. Next, the second scalloped edge is knit down the length of the scarf like a kitted on border working it together with the live stitches from the center panel. 

If you've ever used Yarnia yarn, you know it's not actually plied, each of the strands sit next to each other on the cone and the knitting experiences is like holding several strands of yarn together. This makes the risk of splitting higher than usual and and in a lace project where you're using larger-than-recommended needles it makes for slow going. I'm guessing that's part of why this kept getting set down--it took a lot of focus, and I just don't have as much time to dedicate to projects that need constant attention. 

In the end, it turned out beautiful. My mom claimed it the last time she was up, and it's a little fancy for my wardrobe so I didn't object. Every project in this book is gorgeous, so I will probably cast on another soon... and hopefully get it finished with less delay.