Endpaper

I've always admired color work, but hadn't been drawn to it until just recently. Late last year, I looked at my knitting skills and decided that though I was pleased with them, there was room for improvement. I've never been one to be pleased with "good enough"...so I went in search of "better", and found it in several new techniques. The first (and arguably now my favorite) was enterlac. After that I tackled seaming, which has proven very helpful. Then I moved on to lace, and more lace, which was exciting and fun. Now, I present to you, Color Work.

Something about this pattern enticed me. The tiny "diamonds" look like fleur de lis to me, and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for that ever-present French icon. I liked that it was a relatively simple stranded pattern for me to cut my teeth on, and I knew that I had some yarn in my stash that would do the job justice (Dale of Norway, Baby Ull, leftover from this charming sweater for Grace).

The only thing I changed was the cast on. I know, I was supposed to be trying new things! But, one new thing at a time is best for me, so that I can master them before moving on (see the "good enough" comment above.) I did a standard long tail cast on and then a twisted 1x1 rib. Once I changed to the color work, I did several repeats with the colors reversed...which was very frustrating. My stitches were also inconsistent, and so, I ripped back to the ribbing and started over.

After the Holidays I dedicated more time to completing these, and I must say I'm very pleased with how the first one has turned out, and I'm looking forward to having the second one complete.