It looks like "heavenly" to me too. I have four balls of it that will be going to a good home, just not this good home. I bought it to knit Kim Hargreaves' "Dew" and I've found that I'm allergic to mohair. Or dental floss, whatever.

I hope you've conquered the lace!

lace is tricky
it is also something that you cannot knit when you have a 13 month old trying to steal your attention and your needles:)

however i just wanted to say my christmas cactus blooms at thanksgiving christmas easter and then again in augustish.
i think it likes where i have it.
:)
it is starting to bloom again.

I've never tried lace, so two thumbs up to you for even attempting it. We have a HUGE Christmas Cactus that my dh rescued from his sil and it blooms twice a year. Once in winter and once in the spring. It's blooming now. It's the same color as yours (which is beautiful by the way). Best of luck with the scarf.

Looks like "Heavenly" KSH. Stick with it, you'll love the end result. I found it was better not to switch btw projects when working w/KSH. Love UNH, I'm an alumni.:)

My Christmas Cactus is white, I love your red one. It also blooms at odd times. Usually around Thanksgiving to Christmas. Again sometime in the Spring, usually around Easter, and sometimes at another odd time. I'll have to look for a red one.

I have two Christmas cacti - one at home and one at work - and they have never bloomed. Wait, that's a lie...the one at home bloomed once. Of course, with my brown thumb, I'm grateful that they're both still alive, but....

You can knit lace! You just haven't met the right pattern yet. This could be the one! You certainly picked a heavenly shade of blue for it (ahem, I think "heavenly" may actually be the name of that color.)

I'm working on the same scarf, and I think it's a very well-written, easy-to-follow pattern. So, good choice! If you have trouble remembering which is the right side and which the wrong side, put a stitch marker at the beginning of the right side row somewhere. Then you'll always know which side you're looking at. Obviously this is only an issue with garter stitch lace. ;-)

Hello,
first time poster on your blog :) Your cactus is gorgeous.... my Gran used to have one when I was a tiny tot :)

Have you had a look at Eunny's lace knitting tutorial? It might help you figuring the whole lace knitting out. You can find it at http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/ and I think the link to the tutorial's some where on the right (or you can just have a look at the last 4 posts).

Cheers Eva

My money's on you! Looks great so far, and that blue reminds me of the sky.

You *will* win -- I have total confidence!

That beautiful blue lace looks pretty good to me, hon. Way to go!!

Christmas Cactus--wow. I haven't seen one of those in years! I used to have one ages ago, but I think it finally fossilized (sp) due to age and lack of water....

Sandy

Just a note, you don't have return it. I am so thrilled for your extra cactus bloom. Must be a good sign.

As for lace, Im a bumbler too. Maybe you'll inspire me....

My money's on you, kiddo.

No, not Bumbling Knitter. I dub thee Sky Knitter! And you will triumph!

I thought I was the only one with lace issues. And I desperately want to knit lace too. So far all I have managed is to test the yarns' frog limit. I'll send good thoughts your way, and if you have a thought to spare, send it mine. Maybe we'll commiserate ourselves through to success!

I love doing lace, but it can really beat you up some days. I'm taking a class to learn it and all we've done are swatches. Sometimes I can't get even those done in the 2 weeks between classes. :)

I love doing lace, too, and am sure you can beat it if you try! (Rah! Rah!)

I'm so jealous of your Christmas cactus. Mine hasn't had a flower in YEARS. (Sigh.)

i love doing lace, and (not meaning to be bigheaded) am reasonably good at it though i seldom show any 'en blogue', but i always seem to have problems when i'm tempted by a mohair yarn...i always have to rip out, which eliminates my enthusiasm for the project :o\

smooth (and tightly plied so it doesn't split as easily) is much better/easier, especially when you're being bested by a nemesis ;o) ditto what cara said...there's NOTHING that says lace has to be done with fine yarn and toothpicks...fingering and sportweight are great choices (sock yarn can be really cool), and you can even make something purdy and lacy (and faster!) by using dk, worsted or larger with big honkin needles (go up at least a couple sizes from what you'd normally use)...and the sharper the points on the needles the better...forgive the blasphemy but addis are often NOT the best for lace...they don't do decreases as easily and they can be way too slippery (sorry if that's obvious).

you also might try some of the shetland patterns--they're by nature less complex and very easily memorized...makes peoples' eyes bug out when they notice you're not using a chart or anything ;o)

my bugaboo is missing yarn overs lol...so i usually (at least til i've got far enough so i can 'read' my knitting) 'chant' silently (or barely vocalized) along with the chart (my pref over written directions) to be sure i've gotten it all...ie "knit 2, yarn over, lean right (k2tog), knit 1, lean left (ssk or k2tog tbl, which is nearly identical), yarn over, knit 2, knit 2,..." and so on...sounds weird i know but it works for me...and it's great when everything finally clicks and you can see "oh yeah there should be a hole there too...i must have missed a yo" and can fix it without ripping out...quite a rush ;o)

i'm rooting for you...cuz you're NOT a bumbler, and i know you can get it :o)

Good luck with the lace - I know you can beat it. And you've got yerself and Easter Cactus. How nice!

I'm crap at lace, too. And I pretty much hate knitting it.

My Christmas cactus, rest her soul, always bloomed at Easter. I started calling her the Easter cactus. I killed her (inadvertently, I swear), and she didn't rise from the dead! So I guess she wasn't an Easter cactus after all.

Several people have told me their Christmas Cacti are now blooming...how cool is that? I have to watch every stitch of a lace project. Learn to read your lae and see where the stitches line up. You'll make less errors. It's beautiful. Don't give up. Sometimes the frog pond is just enough to make lace mind its manners.

Have you tried it with a different yarn - not a lace weight yarn? I have yet to knit with the hairy dental floss, aka, Kidsilk Haze (actually I tried once and that was enough for me.) I love knitting lace with fingerweight or sportweight yarns! Maybe that will help!

That color blue is beautiful though.

I believe the color is Heavenly blue. I'm currently making the same scarf with that blue. It's my first Kidsilk haze...Love it.

I'll join you in the lace battles. No matter how many stitches I'm supposed have at the end of the row for the Flower Basket shawl, I always have 1 extra. I mean, how many times is a person expected to rip back a row or two?

You have my sympathies.