Lace Knitting? Knitted Lace? Who Cares??

On Ravelry, Knitter's Review, and Knitty the subject of lace knitting vs knitted lace sometimes comes up. "Purists" maintain that knitted lace is patterned every row, while lace knitting (sniff here to signal contempt of this lesser art form) has resting rows of all-knit or all-purl stitches.

So what do you call this pattern?

It's patterned on every row, yessirree Bob, it is- but it doesn't have lace stitches (YOs and decreases) on the wrong side rows. Hence I say, who cares? Many knitting designers don't make a distinction, and absolutely drop-dead gorgeous Shetland and Estonian lace patterns have resting rows. Who cares, indeed.

Some more info on the little blue piece I'm showing you: the lace pattern is from Margaret Stove's book Creating Original Hand-Knitted Lace. She used it as a border pattern for a baby's outfit. I've had the book for years, and for years this border pattern of bluebells has intrigued me about its possibilities as an all-over lace pattern. At first I thought I'd design a sock using it, but the swatch shows me it doesn't have enough lateral stretch (it has a nice vertical stretch though). I'm using it to design a symmetrical scarf that will have an Estonian lace border knitted on to each end. Having just received Nancy Bush's definitive book, Knitted Lace in Estonia, what can I say except that the breathtaking designs beg to be used. If all goes as planned, I'll write this up and post it on Ravelry and the sidebar as a free pattern. Oh and the yarn is Dream in Color Starry, color is Midnight Derby. And the finished product, if it turns out as I hope, will be gift number 4 for my 5 friends.