My knitting friend from Houston,
Kenny, called me up one day and said, "Let's knit Lyra!" And that's how this started.
I had no idea what
Lyra was (I believe it is pronounced "Lie-rah"), so after we talked about knitting this pattern, I tried to find out about Lyra, and the designer,
Herbert Niebling. I have been unable to find much about him, but from what I gather, he was German, and designed doilies and tablecloths and the like sometime during the 1920s and 1930s. I am not quite sure of the time period, so if anyone has more information, please let me k
now.
Click on pics for larger view. First pic is Lyra right after blocking. Top right pic is on the dining room table. Other pics are closeups of the corner and mid points.With the advent of the knitters online group
Ravelry.com, patterns, ideas, and feedback and information about yarn, along with social and political fun, have flourished worldwide, and is shared at the fastest pace ever!
So, I got the pattern, and during January and February spent about 200 hours knitting this lace. While the original patterns are mostly done with size 00, 0 and 1 US size needles (quite small in diameter) and knit with thin cotton thread, I decided to knit Lyra with Grignascu merino/silk (75/25 blend in a pewter gray color) that Kenny bought for me on his visit to Vermont last October (thanks Kenny!). I used size 5 US needles.
The knit piece has been washed and blocked--two hours of stretching it out and
pinning it with lots of pins over a blanket topped with a sheet on the living room floor. It was not the most fun I've had in old age, and my butt and calves were very sore for 3 days afterward from squatting and sitting on my heels!
This Lyra is 60x60 inches.
Enjoy! Also, click
HERE for pics of Niebling's design mastery!
JB Mpiana na kundi zima la Wenge BCBG bado ni mwanamuziki anayetisha na mbishi sana kwenye Gemu kwa wanamuziki wanaotoka Jamuhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo na Afrika kwa ujumla mwanamuziki huyu amekuwa hashuki wala hapandi sana katika kiwango chake cha muziki lakini ukitaka kumtambua kama ni mwanamuziki mkali, ni kupitia katika maonyesho yake ambayo amekuwa akifanya katika nchi mbalimbali Duniani mwanamuziki huyu mwaka jana mwishoni mwa mwezi wa Desember alidhihirisha ukali wake wakati alipokuwa nchini Marekani katika jiji la New York ambako alifanya onyesho la kukata na shoka kwenye ukumbi wa The Fillmore kwa kwa mwaliko wa kusherehekea ushindi wa Rais Barrack Obama, ni kazi ngumu kwa wanamuziki wetu wa hapa nyumbani kufikia mafanikio haya kwani wanahitajika kuwa wabunifu sana na wenye kujifunza mambo mbalimbali ili uwe mwanamuziki wa kimataifa unatakiwa kufanya nini, ili waweze kushindana katika soko muziki wa kiamtaifa kama walivyo wenzao kutoka mataifa mbalimbali ya Afrika ambao wamepiga hatua kwa kiwango cha hali ya juu picha hizi mdau ni kwa hisani ya mtandao wa www.Afropop.gov.
