This Is Why I Can't Be Left Unsupervised.

I still have not acquired my size 3 needles. I will probably go purchase them tomorrow, as the shop downtown has a lovely array of cable sizes.

Anyway, this has led to a problem. See, if I'd had the appropriate needles when Knitted Lace of Estonia showed up, I would have cast on for Queen Silvia right then and there, and been through several repeats by now. However, I have been left to my own devices, and there's a stitch dictionary in the back of the book, and we all KNOW I like to do my own thing . . .

That's right. There's some designing going on. Or not so much 'designing' as piecing together a sort of Franken-shawl. I'm not extremely keen on the all-around lace edgings in general. They're pretty, yes, but not really as modern to my eye. Or maybe that's just a load of crap, maybe I just like the deep, interesting, short-side lace borders much better.

So anyway, I think my mom's Birthday Shawl is going to end up as Queen Silvia with random frankenborder. I think I will--not really 'swatch,' since I don't have the exactly right needles, but dig up some random thin yarn (there's got to be SOMETHING around here) just to make sure the lace patterns I'm choosing flow together into something that's fairly pleasing to the ol' eyeball. There's already been some math. There has to be a little more math, but I have faith.

If I had been a knitter in high school, I would have gotten a much higher score on the SAT, I'm sure of it.