Tanks Giving-- Carol's Lovely Lace

We're hoping to do a lot of posts featuring work y'all have knitted up. And today, for our inaugural edition of Your Cool Stuff on Our Blog, HCW patron Carol is here to tell us about a gorgeous summer tank she finished recently. Carol says:

"The pattern is called Lace-Edged Corset by Michele Rose Orne in the book Lace Style by Pam Allen & Ann Budd** out of Interweave Knits. On my way to finding the yarn called for, I fell in love with a pale cream Bamboo from Ornaghifilati. I then couldn't find a yarn for the lace edging
that matched, but did find Enchante, a 100% silk, by Kaalund Yarns in Jacaranda, a lovely multi-shaded lavender to mauve. However, it was too fine by itself, so I finally found a shade of #8 pearl cotton (Anchor #108) that supported it beautifully.

I thought it would be cool to use bamboo needles to stitch bamboo yarn, but as I knit tight, it proved less than ideal, but I
continued and used it as an opportunity to practice knitting looser. The mix of my tension and the different yarn caused the gauge to come out right at the size 3 needles the pattern called for. I looked at the book because of the word 'lace' and bought it because of this pattern. I immediately saw my daughter wearing it. I mostly enjoyed making it, although I made the pieces separately first, had them come out different lengths, and ripped them right out and made them over at the same time, which I hadn't wanted to do because of dealing with three balls of yarn at once.

I reworked the bottom lace as the directions made a lace that was too ruffled for the effect I wanted. Making a fitted garment wasn't hard, but blocking it was, as laying it flat messed up the fitting. I did work it out, though, and the yarn blocked quite nicely. In all, I am delighted with the results. My daughter is due to visit me this summer and I plan to get pictures of her wearing it. I refuse to mail it as I insist on seeing her face when she opens her present."

**Yes, we do have the book in stock. And shhhh, if you run into Carol's daughter, don't tell her. It's a SURPRISE.