Not much progress here. My knitting (and blogging) time is severely curtailed by work obligations. I have moved a bit further into the pattern. It’s slow going. In addition to not having lots of time to sit down and make an systematic investigation – the pattern itself continues to present challenges.

I’m still struggling with the $ notation. Sometimes it means k1tbl, sometimes it means k2tbl. At this point I’m using the chart as a point of base information on my quest to make the finished knitting look somewhat like the book’s engraved illustration. Each row is an exercise in winging it, with occasional rip-backs after a repeat or two if they don’t quite work out.

As you can see – I’m close. Right now I’ve just finished the row where the triple peacock tail like elements are topped off with a double decreases, bringing their three lobes to sharp points. After that I’ve got a couple of rounds of a ground type pattern with vertical stripe like lace bars, then I launch into the supplemental graph for the zillion petal border repeat.

It’s hard to say exactly how large this piece is right now, all scrunched together in typical snood-type style on my circs and unblocked, but I estimate that I’m at about 24 inches across. Based on a crude assessment of proportions, I’d say that by the time I’m done with the petal section, I’ll be at 36-40 inches across. Still too small for my intended table, but I’ll worry about that when I get there. Maybe I’ll add another simple ground element, and then a judiciously chosen edging knitted around the circumference as opposed to center-out.

I take it from the astounding silence on recent projects that I’m pretty much the only person in the blogosphere (or at least the tiny minority of the knitworld that visits here) who is working from the Duchrow books. This is a pity, because in spite of the difficulties I’m having now, they are a marvelous source of inspiration. Don’t be daunted by the antique notation, the fact that they’re written in another language, and that on occasion a bit of creative insight has to be applied to make things work out well. This last bit hasn’t been common. I’ve worked up about a dozen items from various Duchrow charts and this is the first one that’s been a struggle. This stuff is Xtreme Knitting at its purest. If you like lace and like a challenge, consider this set.

Rats. I just noticed that I knocked two repeats off the end of the needle getting the radius measurement. Perfection in my work as in everything else, is asymptotic.

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