Now that I’ve had a week of summer vacation things are looking up for my crafty side. You know, that split personality of mine that has been dormant for so long allowing me to concentrate on work and taking care of the kids. The crafty side of me that has given up space to the more practical house-building, responsible side that has been emptying boxes and organizing the new house and leaving me exhausted at the end of the day making knitting and crafting a thing of the past. Well, now that school is out and I’m actually getting a bit of sleep at night, I’m able to knit and sew again which has really made me feel better about everything. It is amazing what fabric between my fingers or the feel of yarn on the needles can do to a person. A crafty addict kind of person, that is. It’s like Christmas all over again and I looove Christmas.
My kitchen window is really naked and needs a bit of attention so to counteract this problem I’ve taken inspiration from Sooza’s kitchen curtain and casted on The Rose Leaf curtain from Marianne Kinzel’s First Book of Modern Lace Knitting. After knitting a swatch and seeing that my gauge was right on count I casted on 270 stitches for a 100 cm wide curtain.

I’ve finished the casing and have started the lace pattern only to discover that it’s about 10 cms too narrow. Now I’m hoping once I block the cotton it will grow a bit in width but it’s a wee bit frustrating. Does anyone have any experience to share or advice to give on this one?? I do love knitting this pattern though. We’ll see how it goes.
I’ve also found my running shoes among the move rubble which we call a basement. I’ve used them about 4 times now and I’m up to running a 5K without too much pain and motivational difficulties. Oh life is good again.
July 17th, 2009 at 3:01 am
Nice to see you back at knitting. I’ve noticed when I wear lacey cotton t-shirt I knit I find at the end of the day it has stretched. Hopefully the same will happen with your curtains, they are lovely…ciao
July 17th, 2009 at 4:18 am
If the yarn is 100% cotton, you can really aggressively wet block it, and it will grow a lot. besides, sometimes cafe curtains are a wee bit small for the windows, and they look really chic and French.
July 21st, 2009 at 9:12 pm
good to have you back!
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Cotton always grows in my experience, like blue jeans always stretch out a little. Whatever the case, it’s beautiful so far.
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Oh, those look beautiful! I can’t wait to see them finished and on your windows! I’ve always wanted to make my own knitted curtains!
April 11th, 2010 at 4:23 am
Cotton is really gorgeous! I love this project.