The River Stole: Pattern Notes

River flowing over the sea, and gliding past the island of Kauaii.

River Stole
Designed by Jennie Atkinson, Rowan No. 38
Knit with two skeins (229 yards/skein) of Rowan's Kidsilk Haze (70% Kid Mohair/30% Silk) in color 606 "Candy Girl", on size US8 Bryspun Circulars.
Gauge: None.
Size: 26 inches wide by 53 inches long.

The Pattern
Sometimes to make a beautiful thing, you have to preservere. This is one of those times. Although this is one of the easier lace stole patterns out there, it takes a good three repeats to set the pattern in your mind, and by then you've knit a hundred rows. On the way to that first hundred rows is where your patience will be tested.

For those who choose the path of the River, do as I say and not as I do: take the time to put in some lifelines in the early stages. I spent as much time tinking this shawl as I did knitting it, and if I had even once used a lifeline to avert disaster rather than snaking one through in a haphazard manner later, I probably would have saved a lot of time.

That said, I had the same experience with River that I have had with many other long, rectangular projects, and somewhere in all those rows, adrenaline or madness or something kicked in and I became so attached I was almost unwilling to finish it. This was not the experience of all who knit River, but for me it became somewhat entrancing. If you are thinking of embarking on the River journey, know yourself. If some unknown force kicks in when you see piles of fabric spilling out before you and allows you to engage despite obvious repitition, go forth. If you get bored easily, go elsewhere.

As far as I could tell, there were no mistakes in the pattern, although I did not make the accompanying beaded scrunchy, so I cannot speak for that portion of the pattern. My one request to Rowan would be to start using charts for lace for pete's sake! Having to read thirty-six lines of written lace instructions does not endear me to you. That said, finished project? Gorgeous.

Techniques:
I used the Russian join to join the second skein of kidsilk on River - a technique that had piqued my interest when I saw it over on MJ's blog. It is a bitch to execute on mohair lace, as you have to use a sharp sewing needle rather than a chibi and risk the possibility of drawing some serious thumb blood. The result is great, however. I challenge you to find my ends! I would definitely use it again.

Close-ups by Moxie.*Modifications:
I used size US8 needles instead of US10, and did four horizontal repeats and 15 vertical repeats.

Finishing:
I wet-blocked River, by gently placing it in a the sink of tepid water and eucalan and allowing it to soak for 30 minutes. I then gently pressed out the excess water at the sink and put it in the washing machine on the spin cycle to get even more moisture out. The spin cycle won't harm or agitate fibers - the fiber stays flush against the wall of the washer after the initial movement and the water spins out. I then layed River out on the picnic table that we have on the side deck, on top of a stack of old towels and pinned it into scallops, with each scallop residing where a wave of the pattern crests. I did notice some bleeding of the color in the sink, and a small amount of it bled onto the towels that I used. I didn't have this with the muted color of Birch, but if you use a color like the blazing pink "Candy Girl", you can probably count on it. The bleeding did not affect the vibrancy of the color, however, and it was minimal. River dries very quickly in our dry, hot California air, so it was done blocking within an hour.

Impressions of Rowan's Kidsilk Haze:
I have talked about this yarn ad naseum on this blog. It's a bitch to use when you're new to it, and challenging even when you're not. But the rewards? Incredible. Once you finally get to the point where actual knitting is taking place it's amazing.

Possible substitute yarns:
The two best substitutes that I know of for Kidsilk Haze are K1C2's Douceur et Soie and Artfiber's Tsuki. At 515 yards/skein for $16 Tsuki is a steal, and can be ordered on line. Douceur has the same fiber content as Kidsilk, and Tsuki is close, with 10% more silk and less mohair.

Tips and Tricks:
Everything that I said about Birch applies here. If you want to add more horizontal repeats, each will take 17 sts. If you add an even number of horizontal repeats the edge pattern (little loops) will work out. If you add an odd number you will have to start with an extra st, dec 1 st after the loops, and do the opposite at the other end. No big deal, but good to think out in advance.

Farewell Kauaii.

*My esteemed photographer sometimes forgets that the knitwear is his subject. For clear shots of the lace see my previous entries.

Posted by Julia at August 12, 2006 03:07 PM
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