Farewell to Lyra

Apologies to those of you (and I expect there are few!) who are thinking 'Enough of they Lyra already!'. You'll be happy to hear that this post bids farewell to Lyra -- at least until I report back on my Mom's reaction!

Obsessive to the last, I woke up this morning, put Lyra in the sink to soak, took a shower, got dressed and then blocked it on my bed before leaving for work.

And here it is.

It's fair to say I love it as much as a finished object as I did while knitting it. I think my mom will love it. It turned out a little smaller than I had hoped, which means I'll have to rethink what table Mom will use it on - but I'm sure we'll come up with something.

It was knit on 2.5mm needles, using Helen's Lace (Lorna's Laces) Natural. I used just a smidge over one skein (one skein being 4 ounces, 1250). That skein ran out on the last row! So I was very happy that I had bought two. (phew) (I bought the yarn from http://www.modernknitting.co.uk/ who always provide incredibly helpful service -- as they did in getting me this yarn when there was none to be found in the UK.)

The pattern is from the June 1986 Anna magazine, available on eBay from time to time.

The Burda charting style is different from what I'm used to, but once I was familiar with it I really liked it. I expect trying to chart this (what is the non-Burda charting style called?) (ummm I'll call it 'Vogue style') - anyway - attempting to chart this Vogue style would make the pattern look even more complicated than it is because of the irregular increases and decreases.

A couple of people have asked 'what next?' - well nothing too taxing for a few days. I need to get serious about my Innocent Smoothie hat production, and I've got to cast on for a pair of socks or two.

When I've caught up with my friends, some reading and the laundry I've neglected over the past two weeks I'll be ready for for my next project -- for that I've got a couple of potential Nieblings in mind......

Lyra Undressed (and who IS Niebling?)

Here she is in all her glory. I'll block it on my bed which means it is toooooo late to take that on tonight. (As Lyra obsessed as I am - a girl needs her beauty sleep!)

In the meantime a few people in the comments expressed an interest in learning a little more about the genius that is Niebling, so I've pulled together the little bit I've learned over the past few weeks into a Niebling Knit Bits.


Niebling Knit Bits

1) There is very little biographical information on Niebling. Apparently he started knitting when he was about 6, making gloves for soldiers in the war.

2) The charting of lace patterns (rather than writing out the knitting sequence) is often attributed to him.

3) The patterns can be quite complex and have a very different feel to them than the more geometric patterns found in books like Victorian Lace Today and A Gathering of Lace. (Both of which are fab by the way.)(Just different.)

4) His patterns have 'unusual' increase/decrease bursts - which give some of the fluid shapes -- but can mean the knitting pulls or strains. (If you look at pictures of Lyra you'll see that in the 3rd set of leaves.)

5) Many of his patterns appeared in Anna/Burda magazines. They don't appear in many other forms, making them sometimes quite difficult to get hold of. But don't despair - some tips on getting Niebling patterns follow!

6) Lyra appears to be the most popular Niebling pattern -- but there are many beautiful Nieblings to discover. Which is why so many of us are addicted to Niebling Knitting. Some of the links below will take you to Niebling maserpieces throughout blogland.



Niebling Patterns


Many of the patterns are out of print which is why many of us spend a bit of time each week on eBay looking for back issues of Anna/Burda magazines. A search on 'Niebling' usually uncovers some goodies. The good news is that most sellers will highlight a Niebling pattern in any issue they are selling making them easier to find. The bad news of course is that means other Niebling lovers will also be interested.

The magazine with Lyra in it is from June 1986. I'm not sure how much an English copy of the magazine sells for but I paid $38 for the German copy I have. German copies seem to come up every few weeks so don't go crazy with bidding - patience may work for you.

Other magazines with lots of Nieblings can go for more, and magazines with only one 'lesser known' Niebling can be bought for less than $10 on occasion. If you watch the auctions for a couple of weeks you'll see which patterns are 'hot' and what the going price is.

Happily the German magazines come (usually) with a supplement providing instructions for the chart symbols. And if you don't have one - there is an online resource at KnittingFools which provides chart translations for many charting styles including Burda.

A bit of Alta Vista Babel translation and help from some blogland will help with the non-chart instructions (casting on, off and any special instructions).

Lacis has 2 books of Niebling (Niebling school) patterns. (you have to scroll WAAAAAAAY down the page to find them) I haven't seen either so can't comment on them. (But they are on my Christmas list!)


Finally, DoilyHead has 2 leaflets with quite a few patterns that she managed to convince the Burda family to let her publish. I've got both of those (blame Jane) and there are some interesting bits and pieces in there.

EDITED 12 October: I've discovered another source for some of Niebling's gorgeous patterns. Glenda (aka Doilyhead)(I love that name!) - anyway Glenda has some single patterns for sale -- you can check out which patterns she has at her Flickr site.

Glenda refers to herself as a 'Niebling addict enabler' and when you see the patterns you'll know why!

Online Niebling Goldmines

There are two Niebling related Yahoo Groups (I don't belong to either!)(yet) - Niebling Lace Knitters for talking about knitting Nieblings, and Herbert Niebling Patterns whose focus is pestering Burda to publish the dang patterns!

Some Niebling knitting from the wilds of blogland (in no particular order!):

Rosemarie has knit up some beautiful Nieblings and has a great circular start tutorial.

OceanKnitter completed an award winning Lyra last year.

The Lyra Learning Group is just that - a group of knitters led by Rosemarie who tackled Lyra. Some gorgeous versions there as well as a few tips and hints.

Angelfire has quite a few pics of different Nieblings. Click on the small pictures to see the detail. It's well worth it!!

And of course there are Jane, Fleegle and Z's Momma - all welcome commenters on this blog and inspiring Niebling (and other styles of lace) knitters.

Right, that's everything I can think of about Herbie for now. Please feel free to add info/links I've missed in the comments and I'll edit the post to include them.

I'd Rather be Niebling Knitting

Jane asked on her blog yesterday whether it was possible to be addicted to Nieblings.

As I've continued to use almost every spare moment this week to knit on this big blobby looking thing and as my pile of German lace magazines grows I'm going to have to answer - "My name is Soo and I'm a Nieblingaholic."

I'm still loving the Lyra pattern. The rounds are quite long now. The last time I counted was on round 126 and at that point there were around 900 stitches on the needle. It is challenging enough to keep my brain engaged and the time flies by when I'm knitting.

This reminds me -- I realised at some point this week that I had entirely miscalculated the number of stitches in Lyra. By my new reckoning it is over 105,000 for the round version, and a little more than that for the square one.

This photo shows one of the corners emerging.

It also occured to me that I haven't posted a picture of the finished Kaffe Fassett socks - so I'll tick that off my to do list and post one now.

I haven't matched the stripes as the recipient of these socks has declared that matching ones are lame. This view will ensure she has hand knit socks for the rest of her life.

It's a great yarn and I have ordered some of the other stripy colourways.

Pom Poms are Happy Things

Sure Mondays can be a drag. But even the bleakest, greyest Monday starts to look pretty good when you look at a bunch of pom poms.

The Caked Crusader has outdone herself on the pom pom production for Innocent Smoothie hats. So much so that I'm afraid I'll have to insist she make some more. I can't have some hats topped with this glory and others not.

(She's got to do something while those cakes are baking.)

I've sort of stalled on the hat making -- so I'll need to give them some attention this week.

Of course I've stalled because I've been obsessed with knitting the Lyra. It's moving along more quickly than I expected -- at the cost of actually doing anything else. Like laundry, shopping or sleep.

I'm becoming a convert to the German charting style - there are definite advantages, particularly when you have long stretches of plain knitting or a set of stitches to be repeated X times.

I'm also considering abandoning my beloved Addi Lace needles for KnitPick circulars. I used the KnitPicks for the early rounds and switched to the Addi's recently when the KnitPicks were too short. The smoothness of the KnitPicks and the super sharp points are sorely missed - particularly now that I'm attacking the mini cables in the flowers.

That's right. This Niebling guy has put cables in lace.

Cables. In lace.

Egads.

Worlds colliding. Anarchy.

I can only imagine what else he has up his Lyra sleeve.

The Challenge Begins

I've cast on for Lyra. Strangely I was REALLY intimidated by the pattern. I can not remember the last time I worried about tackling some knitting. But I was. So much so that I cast on and knit about 2 rounds and then took a break (bear in mind at that stage a round was 8 or 16 stitches). Then I knit another one or two and took a break. That pattern continued until I got to round 19 and came across an abbreviation that was not on my handy dandy English translation page.

Eeeeek.

Jane and Rosemarie to the rescue (I sent out a couple of SOS's) - they confirmed the meaning of the abbreviation and I was off again.

Tonight when I picked Lyra up I realised it was of course just a series of knits and purls and YO's all of which I had tackled a million times (probably more). The panic was gone and I was loving it.

I've just finished round 40 and I resent having to put it down. Sleep. Such an inconvenience. (And don't get me started on this working for a living thing.)

I can't stretch it out on this needle for a proper photo - but this one gives the idea. I'm using Lorna's Laces, Helen's Lace yarn (natural colour) with 2.5mm needles.

Yesterday I used my very rusty mathematics skills to estimate that the 179 rounds of Lyra will require around 64,000 stitches. 32,000 of those stitches will be plain knitting. The other 32,000 will be patterned.

To put it into other terms 64,000 stitches is about 7 - 8 pairs of socks (depending on size). Or in the terms that were running through my brain last night - a whole freak load of knitting!!!

Pattern? Check. Needles? Check. Yarn? Check.

We have blast off! I arrived home from work today and found the much anticipated Lyra yarn had arrived. Eeeeeeeek!

I'll wind it up tonight and tackle casting on over the weekend. Those of you who kindly offered assistance with the pattern will no doubt be hearing from me sooooooooon.

The Orange Thing Resurrected

In the meantime the orange thing is once again on the needles. This time I'm knitting it double and that is much more the effect I wanted. Knitting it double also tones down the variegation but does still let the richness of the different shades shine through. Can you tell I'm much happier with this attempt? I also decided to use the Hemlock pattern Brooklyn Tweed originally used. I do still love the Azalea pattern from Modern Lace Knitting so expect to see it crop up here again.

Ravelry. Gadzooks!

And in other news I've now been added to Ravelry. I can see why it gets rave reviews but I confess when I logged in the first time I felt a little bit like I'd walked into a huge party that was in full swing and I did't know where to go or who to speak to or what the 'done' thing was. So I logged off.

Happily when I logged back in that evening a few friendly fellow bloggers had added me as a friend and I thought -- phew - eventually I'll find my way around here. But I hope this blogging community I've just gotten into continues despite Ravelry. Blogging and visiting blogs feels more like small gatherings of a few friends in my living room. Comfortable.

Just when you thought you'd heard the last of the Mystery Stole from me......

When I posted my Swan Lake Stole/Mystery Stole 3 picture someone asked how I would keep the stole draped over my shoulder. Well, I'm happy to report that the answer arrived yesterday. This beautiful swan pin from Romi was specially designed for the stole and I love it.

I Can't Read German

When my copy of the Burda magazine with the Lyra pattern arrived yesterday I was reminded of a conversation with my goddaughter when she was about 2 1/2 years old. I'd arrived at the house and we were chatting and I asked her if she wanted me to read her a book. She took the book from the shelf and firmly proclaimed "I'll read it. I'll read it." I shrugged and settled in beside her. She opened the book to the first page, furrowed her little brow, looked at me and announced with a bit of surprise "I can't read."

My German magazines have arrived and "I can't read German." I am taking comfort from the very clear charts and the kind offers from owners of the English magazines for assistance.

I've decided to make the tablecloth in a wool/silk laceweight (cream) on 2.75mm needles. Why? Because I really liked working with the Zephry on the last 3 projects, and that size needles feels comfortable for that yarn weight. Yarn is on order but may take a couple of weeks. Sigh. In the meantime I've bought a couple of sets of 2.75mm dpns which I'll need to use in the early stages. I have an order for 2.75mm circular needles in with GetKnitted (I've opted for KnitPicks because I heard good things about them and you can't get Addi's in 2.75mm.)

When I bought the magazine also bought a magazine with a Herbert Niebling lace curtain pattern which I want to adapt to a scarf. I'm planning to make a scarf with a single repeat of the flower on each end. I think it will be quite fetching.

In the Meantime.....

While I wait for the Big Knitting Challenge (BKC) to start I'm enjoying knitting up socks. The Lana Grossa's are complete, and I'm on the second sock for M. It's Duet Sock Yarn from A Swell Yarn Shop in a simple cable twist pattern. Duet sock yarn comes with a skein of contrasting yarn for the heel and toe which liven up a simple pattern.

Socks to Protect Your Breasts (Really)

And today I made a donation to breast cancer research and received a gorgeous sock pattern in return! Wahey! MezzoDiva the Operatic Knitaholic has designed the socks as part of her fundraising efforts for cancer research. She's also running a knitalong for the pattern. As if that isn't enough she is taking part in a 60km walk in September. The socks are gorgeous, and I'm off to find some lovely pink yarn so I can knit up a few pairs as presents for Christmas.

Thanks for the Swan Lake Love

Finally, thank you so much for all of the lovely comments on the Swan Lake/Mystery stoles. I've tried to reply to as many of you as possible on your blogs, but unfortunately blogger doesn't let me email and so I couldn't reply to those of you without blogs, or who have private blogger id's.

For those who asked if they could link to the blog, please do.

Biggest Knitting Challenge of My Life

Alright I'm ready to unveil (sort of) my BKC. I'm 90% convinced that I'm ready to take this on. Unfortunately I can't post any photos here as the pattern hasn't been delivered yet, so there will be a few links, lots of text and some photos of the lovely yarn delivered to my office today because yarn is always nice to look at.


The BKC came about when I began toying with the idea of knitting my mother a lace tablecloth for Christmas. This led to a bit of pattern googling on Sunday afternoon where I stumbled across a pattern called Lyra by a man called Herbert Niebling. I don't think I'd heard about Herbie (if I can be so informal) before, but it didn't take long to discover that the man is a GENIUS when it comes to two sticks, some yarn and the liberal use of YO's. You can see samples of his design on this page . (Click on the photos to see the detail. Really, it's worth a mouse click to see the full glory.)



Now I've knit some lace in my time. Some of it can be seen on this blog. But suddenly, it seemed I hadn't even begun to knit lace. This stuff just seemed a whole other level. Then I stumbled across Rosemarie's blog, and she had knit such beautiful things -- including Lyra. That was it - in a short couple of hours Herbert Niebling, and Lyra specifically, had become an obsession. (And if you read the comments on my previous entry you'll see Rosemarie has kindly agreed to help point me in the right direction. Wahey! An expert on my side.)


I also discovered a Yahoo Group of knitters equally (possibly more) obsessed with knitting Niebling patterns. Wahey again!



Then the bad news. Getting a copy of Niebling patterns is NOT EASY. In fact this Yahoo Group is devoted to knitters trying to convince the owner of the patterns copyright to reprint them.



On Lacis.com there is promise of an upcoming book of lace patterns of the 'Niebling school'. So possibly Nieblings, possibly just good patterns in his style. But I wanted Lyra!!!!

One of the sites mentioned the crazy prices his patterns were getting on eBay and so I knew eBay it was.


Luckily for me - there it was - the holy grail. A copy of Burda magazine (in German)(but you can't have everything, and charts are universal) with Lyra in it! The auction was due to end Sunday night so I put in a bid and crossed my fingers. I was outbid twice so I put in my absolute maximum price, turned off the PC and tried not to think about whether I should increase it a smidge. just in case... I logged on the next morning and I'd won. Yippppeeee!!!

The pattern is on its way and should be with me shortly.



I would love to make this for my mother - I know she'd love it, and in fact, I think she might even cry. Also, it may help her come to terms with the fact that I am never going to finish tatting that tablecloth I started for her 20 years ago. (My mother has kept that 3/4 finished tablecloth in a trunk in her basement and we have a ritual when I visit where she takes it out and half jokingly, half hopefully asks if perhaps this year I'll finish it.)


Of course, that leads to my fear that I'll start Lyra....and never finish. Hmmm...



PS Yarn pictures are from top to bottom

• Posh Yarn Sophia laceweight, no plans
• Posh Yarn Silk DK, possibly another Sarcelle or Clapotis or.... similar
• Posh Yarn Silk DK, (ditto)
• Posh Yarn Sophia laceweight, possibly a Honey Bee Stole
• Lorna's Laces Sock yarn, socks

PPS Still no Wyoming visitors. Although I've learned that Wyoming has the smallest population of any State in the US so that may account for it. In any event, I'm determined that I will soon start a campaign to lure Wyoming-ites to this blog. Even if only for a second.