last leafy blue post, I promise.

I have some better pictures, so.



It's very pretty, even though it's more of a scarf than a wrap, and I really wanted to make my mom a wrap.



Oh well: there are plenty of other colors, holidays, and patterns in the universe. She'll get a nice big wrap eventually!

blue leafy thing blocking

I finished it! Thank you, season two of The Wire. I may be thinking in profanities, but I don't think I would have gotten through that epic bind-off without you.

I couldn't get a decent shot of the whole thing blocking, but here are a few close-ups to give you the general idea.



I really like the leaves.



I'm kind of waiting till it dries (which it had better do soon, who blocks something on her bed at 8 pm, sometimes I am not clever) to see if the white/lighter blue bits look like pretty variations, or more like I splashed the shawl with bleach.



It might have been nice if the wrap was either longer or wider, but hey, that's what I get for messing with gauge. It's about a foot wide, maybe 14 inches, and it's all circular on my twin bed, so we'll see how long it is when I unpin it.



I hope it's a practical size--practical in the stage sense of 'working' not practical in the sense of 'sensible and useful.'

Whatever it is, it sure is pretty. It's a lovely design.

And best of all, it's done with over a week to spare! Go me!

lacy things!

I seem to be stepping back from my striping madness. You'd think this was good, but now I am indulging in some lacy madness. Apparently I obsess easily. Well, and I know that, that's why I started knitting in the first place, because even a weird stripe obsession is better than playing too much Minesweeper. Minesweeper only gets you carpal tunnel, not something you can wear.

Bear in mind that most of these items have been made in the last . . . oh, say three weeks. Maybe two.

First up we have an Annis. If you can successfully navigate the casting on of billions of stitches (I exaggerate: 363 stitches only) this thing is a breeze, and it's super pretty once it's finished. It's a gift for a friend.



Here's another shot of the Kudzu Shawlette. It really is a good bit further along than last time you saw it! It's just that you knit it the long way, so progress shows slowly. Mine's probably going to be very narrow, since I'm doing it in laceweight on size 4 needles. It's pretty, though, and it feels lovely. I'm hoping it'll be a decent size once it's blocked. I know, I know, I should have swatched. I prefer to live on the edge.



I had forgotten how much mindless fun big ol' triangle shawls are! This guy, Undine, has a very easily memorized stitch pattern for the body of the shawl, so it just zooms right along. I think I did this one on a size 6 needle, which only added to the zooming. This one may end up in the handmade grab bag at my grandma's this Christmas. (Please ignore the wiggly blocking.)



And lastly we have a hilarious receipt I found in my purse the other day.



It's stuff I bought at a card store, I swear!

aw, it's my 400th post.

I should probably throw some kind of party, but I'm a slacker, so all you're going to get are some random pictures. And they're not even very good pictures, because I've abandoned my stripey mitt obsession for a bit of a lace fit.

First up we have a Kudzu Shawlette. Well, the very beginnings of a Kudzu Shawlette.



This is theoretically for my mom's birthday. I'm not entirely certain I like it in the laceweight, but we shall see. This is definitely a time when I should have swatched, but I didn't. Doom and destruction may ensue.

And this blob, which is currently blocking and much less blobby, is a Super Sekrit item for a swap, so you'll probably have to wait a while to see it. Suffice it to say that if you find a shawl pattern with an easily-memorizeable lace motif, and you do it in laceweight on US 6 needles, you can have a sizeable and decently impressive shawl in pretty much no time. (Except for the bind-off. The bind-off will take you forever, and you'll be really glad East Lynne is 60 chapters long.)



I'm thinking I'll make a similar black shawl for the handmade grab bag this year. I have sooooo much black laceweight recycled out of old sweaters, and, God help me, I still have one old black sweater waiting to be unraveled. No, wait, I have two. Dear God. Black lace shawls and wraps for everyone!

a repeat.

Star Crossed Slouchy Beret. Once again a gift, once again not blocked out to be slouchy.



This is a fairly soft acrylic blend, so I have a feeling that once it's been worn for a while, it will go a bit on the floppy side.

I still really dig this pattern. And I still want one for myself.

provisional cast-on joy.

I have never, ever, been able to figure out how to do a crocheted provisional cast-on so that the crocheted chain unzips neatly from my knit stitches.

But now, ha ha, thanks to the super-duper clear instructions for the Grace Lace Beret, I can do it! One simple phrase was all I needed: "pick up 60 stitches from the back of crochet chains." Winner!

And I'd thought I was doing well because I already had a random piece of crocheted chain in the right weight and length just lying around in my bag of scrap yarn. But no, now my lazy ass has learned a new skill, too.

Anyway, I'm pretty stoked about this. It will save me a lot of frustration in the future, I can feel it.

A Sparkly Blue Thing

If you look very, very closely, you can see a faint stripe in this yarn, but it's not quite enough to count towards my stripey projects. :)

Anyway, here's your first look at my Sparkly Blue Thing. The yarn is Blue Heron Rayon Metallic, which appeared on my doorstep in a swap. It's soooo pretty I can't even deal.



The pattern is Something Lacy Shrug. I've been wanting to do something of this sort for a while, but most of the patterns I've found have had lace that seems a little bit 'granny' to me. I'm still not convinced that this isn't a bit granny.



I guess it's a granny with sass, though. The pattern calls for just a little bit of ribbing for sleeves, but I think I might make them longer, if it doesn't look silly. I should have plenty of yarn.