on knitting lace

So I tried to make this pattern from knitty.com, and it was a glorious failure, at least at first. After a few practice rows, I got the technique (I think) but the pattern still wasn't showing. So I switched yarns, switched needles, pulled out my favorite knitting book and switched patterns, and still wasn't coming up with the loose, lacy look that I wanted. Can anyone help me out here? Are there any lace-knitting tricks I should know?