It's Sockapalooza time!

Sock pals are up--thanks, Alison!

Alpine Lace

My Alpine Lace scarf, from VLT, is moving right along. I'm about 2/3 done; I really like that the border is knit at the same time as the center panel. Since I have less yardage (about 800 yards) than the pattern calls for (850), I'm weighing the yarn periodically to make sure I know when to switch to the end pattern.

The pattern itself is very pretty:
And it's about this long:
The real issue is that the two skeins of yarn are different colors--it's more evident in these two pictures. A nice, big, whopping line of demarcation where I switched skeins.

sigh.

I do, however, have some hope that the second skein will lighten up a bit once it's washed. The first skein didn't leave any dye on my fingers; the second one is, though. So maybe some of the dye will bleed off.

I gave the first half a bath already, and blocked it out. The finished measurements in VLT are 18" x 56"; with about a repeat left on the skein, the scarf blocked out to about 19" x 30". It didn't stay that blocked out, though. This if my first all-cashmere anything; I'm not sure if it holds the blocking as well as, say, merino wool, which seems to just do what it's told.

I've been pretty monogamous on this project--I still have to figure out a border for the large rectangle I'm making for myself. But the Alpine lace is a gift for a birthday coming up at the end of May, and I'd love to be able to actually give L her scarf then.

First FO for blogging!

My first FO since I started blogging. Lots of things started, but this is the first FO. It's my second version of the Mason-Dixon Perfect Sweater--my first one wasn't quite so perfect, due completely to my own inablity to measure. (The sleeves are annoyingly too short!) This one, however, is pretty great:


I tried to take an action shot, but all my mirrors are in rooms that don't have very good lighting, and I decided I was better off putting it on the floor.

The details: MDK Perfect Sweater pattern, size small. About 10.5 skeins of Classic Elite Yarns Skye Tweed in color #1253, Tapestry. It's a bit redder in real-life than in this photo. The yarn was purchased at Elann.

The mods: I made the sleeves & body a bit longer, and changed the neckline. I also went down a needle size from the patter to get gauge. The neckline is very scoopy, which my DH likes.

April is the Cruellest Month

The events at Virginia Tech have left me, with much of the nation, shaken. The ivory tower of academia is supposed to be a safe-haven. April is the cruellest month--offering hope of sun and new life, and taking it in the most violent ways.

On the needles

More lace!

I'm done with the center section of my
Large Rectangle. I went with 25 repeats instead of the 30 the pattern calls for, since it a) seemed long enough and b) I'm afraid that I'll run out of yarn before I run out of border.

Now I just need to figure out a border for it. The border that the pattern calls for is pretty, but takes more yarn than I actually have. I bought 1200 yards, which is what the pattern calls for, but completely ignored gauge and now am paying for that. I'm thinking about the willow border from the Myrtle Leaf Shawl on p. 142; I'll have to try a repeat, weigh the yarn, and see if I'll have enough. If not . . .

I'm sure I'll think of something.

In the meantime, I've started a new lace project, with this yarn:

Cashmere 2-ply, hand-dyed, also from Posh Yarn.

It's a birthday present for my college roommate. She came to my parents' for Easter--she lives in NYC; her mom lives in Ohio, my folks are in NJ and I was willing to go into the City and pick her up. So we picked out a pattern for the yarn--I wasn't sure if she'd want a square, or a rectangular shawl, or something else. The pattern is from (where else) Victorian Lace Today; the Alpine knit scarf with double rose leaf center pattern and diamond border (p. 36). Geez, what a mouth-full. From now one: Alpine lace.

I cast on last night, and have one repeat of the diamond border:

I have 800 yards; the pattern calls for 850. the nice thing about this pattern, though, is that the border is knit at the same time as the center, so I can finish the end, weight the yarn, knit until I have that much left, and then start the second end border.

I have another picture, but I can't figure out how to rotate it so it's right side up:


Any ideas?

In other news, I've joined Sockapalooza 4: my first knitalong.

Bermuda, Jamaica, ooo I want to take you

The weekend was far too short, even though we were in Bermuda from Friday afternoon until Monday morning--we left Boston at 7:30 Friday morning, and flew to Bermuda via Philly. The flight was fine and we got to the hotel around 2:00--plenty of time to relax. the weather was fine--breezy, but in the 60's for most of the weekend. The water was too cold to swim (besides, there was no beach to speak of--washed away by a storm, and it needed another one to wash it back).


The hotel had a nice pool, though, and since the plan was mainly to hang out and do nothing, that was enough. The hotel was a bit far from everything--and on top of which, everything closes at 5:00 on Saturdays, and not much opens on Sundays, so on Friday we took a bus to the grocery store to stock up. Fortunately, there was a kitchenette in the room, so we could eat most of our meals there; Bermuda is seriously expensive. We did have dinner at the hotel one night--rockfish, which was new for both of us, although we eat a lot of fish. DH likes to fish, and he keeps the freezer pretty well stocked.

I managed to get fairly sunburned, despite knowing better and warnings from DH; it's fading, though, and doesn't hurt any more. I also managed to get some knitting done--the Large Rectangle is getting longer and longer--I'm up to 21 repeats--but, other than length, it looks the same as it did in the last post.

We flew back Monday morning--you get to clear customs in Bermuda, which made the stop in JFK much more pleasant than I was expecting. We also have a tendency to pack as lightly as possible; unless we're going to be gone for more than two weeks, we aim for carry-on only.

Now we're back in Boston, where it's snowing. *sigh*