A journey of a thousand rows . . .

Begins with a single stitch.

Three evenings of work on the border for the Stripes and Torchon shawl, from Victorian Lace Today. The pattern is pretty--I do like this border--but it's full of SK2P and double yarn-overs, and it's 34 rows long, so I've got no shot at memorizing it. Three repeats down, and who knows how many (30+, I think) more to go.

Fortunately, it's a Christmas present (I know. I'm pretty astonished myself, that I could be working on a Christmas present in July. Of course, at the rate I'm going, I'll still be working on it in December, if I'm not careful!). So there's time.


And a shot of my orchid, which has been blooming continuously since I got it at the end of last August.

For some people, that may not be a huge accomplishment, but I can actually kill mint. And bamboo--I've done it. So the fact that my orchid is not only still alive, but actually thriving? Blows me away.