Goldilocks and the Three Stoles

I’ve started and restarted knitting a stole a few times now. I have this lovely Araucania Nature Wool in slightly variegated teals. It’s a beautiful yarn, and while the label says worsted weight it looks much lighter than any worsted I’ve ever used (and upon a quick Internet search, it seems I’m not the only one with that opinion). Regardless, it looks like it will lend itself well to an openwork pattern, and so I’ve got it in my head that it needs to be a big openwork stole. First, I knitted a stockinette swatch of the yarn in a few needle sizes just to get a feel of the fabric it made. Then I cast on a bunch of stitches and started working on the Snakes and Ladders pattern. But it was not quite lacy enough. So I ripped the yarn back and started again using a diamond lace pattern in a book I have. But it was a little too lacy.

So I’ve ripped the yarn back again. After all, I do want something that’s just right. (Of course, if I’d been a good little knitter and done a small swatch in each of these stitch patterns, that elimination process might have gone a little quicker, but whatever!) So I’ve put in a request at the library for a Barbara Walker book of knitting stitches to peruse. If it’s as great as I’ve heard then I may decide to buy the book, but for now I’ll borrow it and see if I can’t find the perfect “lacy but not too lacy” stitch pattern.

Oh, and here’s a pic of the sock I’m working on: