For someone who does not count knitting in my favorite crafts, I certainly seem to be knitting often. I finished spinning the two-color pink merino wool and am quite pleased with the color distribution. It isn’t nearly as patchy as I thought it would be when I was spinning the singles! I then needed to decide what to do with the two ply yarn. Since I want to get back to spinning, I chose knitting because it is faster than nålbinding and I like the texture better than crochet. It is all well and good to only spin, but how can I improve my spinning if I don’t know how the finished yarn performs?

I found a simple knit lace pattern, since I read two ply is often used for lace. I also learned about a different kind of needle from Prym. These are ergonomically designed with tips that hook the yarn better, triangle shafts so the loops slide better, and they clip together to keep the stitches on the needle between sessions! I do appreciate well designed things!

This pattern is my kind of lace! It repeats every four rows, and there is only one row with increases and decreases, otherwise it is knit or purled all the way across. I had the pattern memorized after three sets, and could recognize where I was in the pattern after three more. And such a lovely dynamic result! I realized that I have seen this ripple pattern somewhere else. My daughter’s dolls were tucked in with a rainbow blanket that my grandmother made that used the same stitch! I’ve always admired the ripple and wondered how it was done. Now I know!

My knitting still can’t be considered speedy, but it will do for a sitting project. I have two other skeins queued up for the next knitting project, and have started a new walking spinning project. We’ll see if I can finish the knit projects before I have more finished yarn!