Persistent Knitter

I took a class last night at my LYS. It was on Kumihimo Braiding.  Overall it was really fun; although I wish there had been a bit more up front explanation on how the technical details of the braiding worked. Once I started braiding and saw what was happening; I understood. Here is the braiding stand we put together (and get to keep):

It’s not really pretty - but it’s stable and gets the job done. The other class offered used a simple disk to braid. The teacher said she prefers the stand; but it’s not as portable.  My stand is made up of some press board with one shiny smooth side, and the inside is rough.  It’s taped together with masking tape.  The bobbins are film canisters with pennies inside.   

Long term it probably won’t last (unless I change the tape for something else) but it’s designed to give you the idea of braiding without having to fork out $300 on a really nice braiding stand.   I just did the simple braid. You can see the detail here:

First was the clockwise twist, then we switched it, then I’m switching back and forth working on the transition (there was a special instruction to make it look nicer).  The stick at the top is to hold the braid in place while it was being transported, and the blue thread horizontal across the screen is holding the bobbins in order.  I bought a few books and some more yarn (in really neat colors) to try out some stuff before the next class.

I finally received my Helen’s lace. A yummy grape color. It coordinates well with some rick rack yarn from Interlacements that I’ve had for a while.  here it is (Katie’s helping):

Now the question. What to make?

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

All three are in the Gathering of Lace book. I was originally going to make option 1 (and why I got two skeins as one wouldn’t be enough), but now I’m just not sure!  Help me decide…. which do you like?