Birch

Birch, Rowan 34, designed by Sharon Miller
Knit with 2.5 skeins (229 yards/skein) of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (70% Super Kid Mohair/30% Silk) in Chill (591) on my ancient US8 Aero Bernat Straights (slippery!)

Pattern Notes:
I varied the pattern and did one long rhombus shape rather than a triange. To do this I cast on enough stitches for 9 pattern repeats plus 6 knit stitches - 3 at each side. The number of stitches cast on is significantly less than for the triangular version, so if you can let the triangle lust go, it's quite the bargain. I knit three rows as a border/base and then followed the pattern omitting the section at the end of each right side row that creates the decreases. I knit two pieces, each about 20 inches long, and left the stitches live. I then joined the two pieces with a three-needle bind-off to create the diagonal seam down the center. (The pattern has a natural diagonal bias, hence the rhomboid rather than square shape.)

Impressions of Kidsilk Haze:
In all my years of knitting, this was the first time I used a fine mohair. I've used mohair blended with a heftier fiber (like wool) before, but working with Kidsilk Haze was like working with thread on needles for me, particularly since almost the entire experience was in lace rather than stockinette. (It will be interesting to see what working this yarn in a plainer stitch will be like.) By far, my favorite type of work is with a nice nubless alpaca or merino wool, or with a pleasant cotton like ASC. Still, once I adjusted to this yarn, I enjoyed it. The blend with silk gives it a lovely shine underneath the halo of the mohair. The result speaks volumes. The lace is open and beautiful, but at the same time the shawl is warm and very, very soft. People sigh when they touch it. It looks like money.

Possible substitute yarns: If you can't find Kidsilk Haze, try K1C2's Douceur et Soie. It's the exact same yarn (same composition, same guage, close to the same yardage) and comes in an amazing array of colors. I have a beautiful electric blue in my stash.

Tips for Others Making Birch:

1. Make a big swatch before you begin. Size doesn't matter on this, so you're not doing it for guage, you're doing it to understand the lace itself. The first few rows are where you are most likely to foul up, and when a pattern involves casting on 299 stitches, it's just no fun to try to un-knit it or rip it out. Know your birch before you start.

2. Aero Bernats are not for everyone on this project. I started on bamboo and was driven nearly crazy by the stickiness of the needle-yarn combo, so I switched to the Aeros. However, I think most people will prefer to fight it out with their chopsticks. Using slicks is like dancing on ice until you get used to it, which is a while!

3. Like all lace projects, this one is vastly improved by the use of stitch markers to separate the pattern repeats. No one wants to deal with that many markers, because they are fiddly, but you'll save rather than waste time by using them from the start.

4. Count your stitches on the back side to make sure that you have the correct number in each repeat. Don't let the yarnovers throw you off - they can easily slip to the other side of the marker. You'll learn to recognize them by sight and be able to put them back in place.

5. You can pick up a dropped or missed yarnover on the wrong side - just scoop! That way you don't have to un-knit an entire row.

6. Sometimes it is easier to slide/pull the K2tog tbl's onto your right needle with your right index finger than it is to pick them up with the needle. If you're getting stuck at the beginning of a pattern repeat, give it a try.

7. Don't give up. I've been knitting for a long time and had a heck of a time with this pattern at first. It really does get easier with practice, and you'll feel so much wiser once you have mastered it.

Happy Birching!