laughing at myself.

Well, after making so many almost-exactly-to-pattern projects post-Christmas, I am back in full winging it form! Mostly. I mean, I have a pattern for a v-neck cardigan, and I'm following that for the v-neck shaping, but the yarn and needles and gauge aren't anything like the same, and Lord only knows what will happen after I finish the yoke.

One idea that is simmering is to edge the whole thing in contrasting applied i-cord. That is what has led to today's comedy. The yarn I'm using is a sort of heathered navy blue that was once a rather nice store-bought tank top that I just wasn't wearing anymore. So I was online looking for some yarn that might work for the edging, but a lot of the less pricey lace weight--like Knit Picks--is much thicker than the yarn I have. And then I thought, well, it's not like I'll need a lot of the contrasting yarn--I can probably just go to a thrift store and look for a color I like and recycle that sweater. Or ask my friends if they've got any old green or purple sweaters they don't want. I'm rather bummed that I don't have anything. I mean, give me a couple of years, but I'd like to wear this cardigan this spring.

So yeah, after my road trip this week, there may indeed be hilarious yarn shopping at the thrift store.

Grey Lace!

I finished it! Ok, I finished it a couple of days ago. I was hoping to wear it to the opera this week, but it was cold and rainy and it didn't really go with any of my cold-and-rainy outfits. So sad, because it's awesome:



It turned out to be just the right length--which means it fits on a twin bed for blocking. I would have liked it to be a little wider, but it is certainly Wide Enough, and I imagine I will get a lot of wear out of it. When it's either a lot colder than it is now, or just a bit warmer.

Anyway, for those of you who care about that sort of thing, I did a wider version of Oiseau de Feu. I cast on 91 stitches, used size 4 needles and 2 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Sterling. I cast on using an 8 or 9 needle--there's actually a chance I did one border with an 8 and one with a 9--so that the edge would be nice and loose to make points with.

One thing I do need to work on when knitting this sort of lace is that I always slip the first stitch so I'll have a nice edge, but I invariably make that slipped stitch too loose, because I'm all anxious that it'll be too tight and not stretch. It's never too tight. It always stretches, and in fact, the slipped-stitch bits are a bit too loose and look messy. Something to work on, I guess. I find it amusing that this is my big challenge when knitting lacy things. Nupps? No problem. Wacky charts? Grafting? Provisional cast-ons? All ok. Slipped stitches are another story.

still knitting grey lace . . .

Am still chugging away on the Oiseau de Cendre. I have opera tickets for next week, and so, since I am so close to finished with this stole, I clearly have to have it done in time to wear it to the opera. This should not be a problem. I'm about 3/4 done. Yay!

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy knitting lace. I kind of want to make my mother a silk shawl for her birthday, but I did make her a wrap last year, and I can't decide if it would be too much the same thing. Last year's wrap was wool, though, and I thought something she could wear in spring and summer would be nice. There will be a wedding coming up in September--not mine, don't worry!--that she could wear it to and be all spiffy.

Uh-oh: missing project!

So yesterday I was all "Hey, I could unravel the Disco Scarf while I watch tv!" And then I COULDN'T FIND IT. Now, granted, I didn't look very hard, but it wasn't where I thought it would be. This freaks me out just a little. I wonder where I would have put it?

Because, you know, one of this year's plans is to do that scarf RIGHT. It'll be so awesome if done right. OMG. I might have to keep it for myself. No, I have enough scarves already.

Um, and to make this post not completely useless babble, check out my Oiseau de Cendre stole-thingie so far!



I'm definitely liking it, but I probably should have gone up a needle size or two. This Knit Picks Gloss is pretty thick for lace weight. In my admittedly limited lace weight experience. :)

I bet you think this will be about mittens!

But it's not. I don't seem to have any colors that would be awesome with my pink coat, so pink-coat-matching-mittens will probably have to wait until next year. (And you watch, my mother will probably decide I need a new coat as my birthday present, and give me something that matches all my other mittens . . . anyway.)

So this is not about mittens. This is about me knitting lace! I have some grey Knit Picks Gloss Lace, thanks to the awesome Mary T. of the Knitting on Top of the World Knit-a-Thon. I knew the title of a mysterious childhood knitting book, and she sent some yarn to thank me. How did she know that's just what I would like??? ;)

And a couple of days ago I was all I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO KNIT! And then I was all "I haven't done any lace in a while," and so now I am making an Oiseau de Feu scarf. Well, stole, probably. I've made it wider, because I have a couple of narrow lace scarves and I don't wear them as much as I wear the wider ones.

I love the pattern so far. The wrapped stitches are a bit of a pain in the rear--I haven't found a non-awkward way to do them--but they look awesome, so I'll forgive them. The rest of it is an easy-to-read good time. I don't actually know if I have enough yarn, due to the whole 'widening' thing, but what would be the fun of knitting with no suspense?

I was going to wait to make this post until I took pictures, but then I was like, "That could be next year, the way I go!" so here we are. They would just be the blobby sort of "Look! Unblocked lace!" pictures that you can't really tell much from anyway, so it's not like you're missing out.