Lace Love

It's been over a year in the making, but it's finally done.

Pattern: Oriel Lace Blouse by Shirley Paden.
Interweave Knits Summer 2007

Yarn: Elann Lara in Antique Blue

Things I love:

• The process. Knitting lace is so fascinating that other knitting just seems ordinary now.
• The cotton yarn was much cheaper than the silk the pattern called for.
• I don't have to worry about it snagging on any little thing - in spite of the lacey knit, this is a sturdy garment.
• It's gorgeous!

Annoying stuff:

• The sleeves, armholes, and neckline needed major modifications to fit properly. MAJOR.
• The cotton doesn't stay blocked. To keep it's shape I'll have to block this every time I wear it. Even when I have it on, it loses length as the lower part contracts. You can see this in the above picture. The lace around my waist has a shorter, wider pattern while toward the top the pattern is longer and narrower.
  
• The size varies so much depending on how aggressively I block it that it was hard to predict how it would fit.
• The collar won't stand up.
• The style isn't particularly flattering on me.

Also, it's warmer than I expected. I thought an open-weave cotton knit would be quite cool but this is too warm for summer day-wear. This isn't a bad thing - just unexpected.

I loved knitting this and don't actually mind the negatives too much - Some of them I realized very early on and yet I kept knitting because I was having so much fun.

Hands down the most challenging and the most fun project I've knit to date. It took a year, but there were a few distractions. A peek at Ravelry tells me I started and finished 22 projects from the time I cast on Oriel to the time I finished it.

Now I'm almost sad that it's done.

Sock It To Me

It's official. I'm a little sock crazy.

Seeing as how it's summer and it's hot I decided to make some 'summer socks' using
Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Wool Print (bamboo, wool & nylon). Naturally it had to be an anklet sock to stay cool, so I chose to modify the Vog On pattern with a shorter anklet edging. This is a great sock. I started it in Morocco and almost finished it on the day we returned.

Oh look - more socks! I brought these socks as my 'backup' project for our Morocco trip. Good thing since we spent a lot more time than we thought we would in the airports. Or resting during a hike (above). I finished these in Morocco, most of it on or waiting for the plane. The yarn is Zitron Trekking (XXL) and the pattern is the ever famous Monkey.

Here's my latest pair of socks. They look somewhat similar to someone else's socks.

Internal Dialog

This morning as I'm getting ready to leave for work:

Oh good, I might finish knitting these socks today!

Hmm, better take another project along just in case.

Nah, I can just take a book.

You're almost done with that book, and knitting is better anyway.

So true. I should take another project, but there's nothing ready to go. I'll just take a different book.

GO NOW. RUN. You're going to miss the bus.

(Barely catch the bus)

I'm definitely going to finish these socks today.

Well then, you'll just have to read on the way home.

What if I don't like the new book?

You can handle it. It's ok to sit quietly with still hands for 45 minutes.

Sounds like torture.

Then you'd better stop by the yarn store after work.

Seems reasonable.

Buy sock yarn.

If you insist.