Thursday, April 05, 2007

Auditions

Casting the right actor in the right role is key to the success of a movie or a play. It's the same in knitting. The choices we make in combining yarn and pattern can make a big difference in the outcome of our project, so I'm holding auditions for my latest homespun. Competing for the role of lacy scarf are two worthy patterns:

Lorrie's Fishtail Lace Scarf
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and

Branching Out
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Hmmm...this is a harder decision than I thought it would be. I'm in love with the leaf motif of Branching Out, but is the yarn competing too much with the design?

I like how nicely Fishtail shows off the gradual changes in the yarn color, but will this scarf roll on the edges?

Let's see them perform side by side.

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What do you think? I'll let you know what I decide on Monday. I need to think about it some more.

26 comments:

  1. I think the Fishtail lace looks better for your handspun. Shows the colors better. It's beautiful.

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  2. Anonymous11:50 AM

    The fishtail scarf will probably roll a little bit... but I can't help it, I love it best!! Both look beautiful, but if it were my choice, I'd go with fishtail.

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  3. Can you add a bit of garter the edges to keep it from rolling. A rolled up scarf just wouldn't be fun. Both look great...just different.

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  4. I, too, vote for the Fishtail. Beautiful yarn!! Even my non-knitting hubby said so. His exact quote..."That is amazing!"

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  5. I vote for fishtail. I love branching out! I actually made it just a few months ago, and have been wearing it all winter. I loved that pattern. It was an nice intro to lace for me, although I still messed up a few places.
    I vote for fishtail though, because I loved the yarn that I used for branching out, and I felt that you didn't really notice it anymore, all the charm of the yarn was just sort of lost in all that holey stuff. Nice pretty holey stuff...but...lost the yarn charm.
    :-)

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  6. I'm captivated by the Fishtail as I feel it shows off the yarn better.

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  7. I think the fishtail scarf is perfect with your handspun! Maybe a wee bit o' garter stitch on the edges to keep the rolling to a miniumum?

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  8. They both look so pretty in your yarn! I like the Fishtail the best, though.

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  9. I vote Fishtail for a corny reason as well as I think it shows off your amazing yarn better, but because your husband is a fisher and you are his best catch:~D

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  10. I have to agree with the crowd- the Fishtail will really make the handspun shine. I've knit Branching Out twice, once in a solid, and once in a variegated, and I liked it much better in the solid.

    You could swatch the Fishtail with a garter border and see whether or not you think it goes with the pattern. Without, the scarf would definitely curl some, but the border might take away from the pattern. I'm undecided on that.

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  11. I like the fishtail better - I love branching out, but prefer it in a solid. Have no idea id the fishtail will roll, though.

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  12. Anonymous6:48 PM

    Going with the crowd here, I love the Fishtail scarf :)

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  13. I vote for number A.

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  14. Anonymous7:39 PM

    I like the Fishtail best, too. Both the pattern and how it shows the color shifts.

    Does the 2nd one have the same color shift in the portion knitted, or did it happen to be more homogenous? But either way, I still like the Fishtail best.

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  15. Anonymous10:39 PM

    I LOVE the fishtail one!! It shows off the yarn beautifully AND the way the yarn is changing color it really shows off the pattern in the lace. You HAVE to do the fishtail!!!

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  16. Fishtail for sure.

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  17. Anonymous8:16 AM

    I love Lana's comment, above. That made me smile. I was going to go with fishtail, too, but now having seen that, it's definitely my choice. ;-)

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  18. The voting looks pretty one-sided. I love both, but agree that the fishtail shows up your beautiful yarn. Can't wait to see the finished product. Have a great Easter.
    Linda

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  19. Hey again!
    Thanks for the comment on my blog! I like your proverbs 31 woman verse in your title bar, we just finished doing a study on her. Very intimidating woman!
    Did you really only start spinning in December, that's amazing. For the last year or two I've really wanted to try, but, I'm not sure if I'm up for that challenge just yet. And I have absolutely no idea how to get started.
    Fishtail
    Fishtail

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  20. I love the first one, I would go for it!

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  21. I love how your yarn looks in the Fishtail audition--the yarn has to compete with the design in the Branching Out.

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  22. I vote fishtail too. It really showcases the beautiful yarn.

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  23. Okay... Fishtail will use up your yarn faster, and I don't know how much you really have. Branching out looks very pretty, and you probably could go down one needle size and have it a little more compact - it will display the stripey effect of your homespun but the whole idea is to feature your yarn with a flattering pattern that doesn't compete with the yarn. Branching Out is just looking a little too "open" in your pinned out swatch there and doesn't do much to really showcase your yarn. They'll both look good but I'd probably have to say Fishtail. No surprise, everyone seems to like that one! :)

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  24. You know that I know nothing about knitting, but I'll have to go with Fishtail, too. :-)

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  25. No contest for me, fishtail :)

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Thank you for commenting!
~Tracy

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