New camera!

Our new camera (a Canon Powershot A710) (which I just noticed is now almost $5 less at Amazon than it was on Sunday, when I ordered it--huh) came on Tuesday, and today is really the first day I've had some time to play with it. Here are my first attempts at photos of the Large Rectangle in my oh-so bee-u-tee-ful Posh yarn:



The silk/cashmere blend is hard to put down, and the changes in color are fun to watch. I made a new "design element" in the fifth and sixth repeats, but it's hardly noticeable (at least, of course, until you actual notice it--then it's hard not to see)--the center leaf in the bottom photo is one of the mistakes. I somehow managed to make the exact same mistake two repeats in a row before correcting myself without even realizing it. I didn't see the mistake until I had done another four repeats, and couldn't really bear the thought of ripping back. So I'm leaving it in.

I've done 13 of 30 repeats so far, but it's already almost 35 inches long. And I started the second skein 6 rows ago; I'm debating how many more repeats I actually want to do. The finished, blocked measurements in Victorian Lace Today are 27" x 74", I think, and I still have to add the border. And block it.

I've never done a knit-on border, though, and it will take some tinkering to figure out how many single-, double-, and triple-joins changing the center length will take. My other concern is that I've read several accounts of needing more yarn than VLT calls for; I ordered 3 400-yard skeins, which is exactly the amount the pattern says I need. So if I knit 30 pattern repeats, and wind up with a longer center panel, I'm afraid I'll run out of yarn on the border.

Right now, however, I'm just going to keep going on the center panel, and not worry to much until I hit 25 repeats or so.

Tomorrow, DH and I are leaving for Bermuda--4 days, 3 nights, pink sand. We've both had a lot of craziness and stress going on in our personal and professional lives, so this is a nice treat. No phone, no internet (no student emails!), no plans other than sitting on a beach. We'll both probably take some of our own work with us, but it will be our work, not papers to grade, so even that will be something of a treat.