Toronto Knitter's Frolic

Well, the Toronto Knitter's Frolic was good to me this year.

I got a few different yarns, as well as a drop spindle that I'm currently trying out (there will be more on that later, I promise!)

First, I got two skeins of Juniper Moon Findley in "Snow."

Unless I completely change my mind, it's going to be a DROPS Morning Sky Cardigan.

I also got a skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label, in her new standard colour "Aurora" (If you remember, I got several skeins of Aurora in her Etsy update, and I'm really glad this is becoming a standard colour!)

This going to be a pair of Birch Leaf Socks, from the book "A Gathering of Lace". I originally planned for these to be made with my leftover skein from my Gox Socks, but then I used my other skein to make the Foare socks, and I think the lace will show off the variegation really well.


Last but not least on the yarn side, I also got a skein of Angel Lace from TurtlePurl Yarns, in the colourway "Deep Ocean".  It's gorgeous stuff! At 1312 yards per skein, it goes a long way!

This is going to become a Roseleaves Tunic, also from "A Gathering of Lace."  I've been meaning to make this for a while.  Originally I was thinking I'd do it in a superwash merino lace, but this just was too awesome to resist, and it's not like I'm really going to machine wash a lace tunic, anyway.

I do have one lesson learned, though -- next time I go to the Frolic, I'm going to try and bring a lot more cash. The credit/debit terminals can get cranky with so many wireless signals, and not all vendors take credit/debit.  But the Frolic is still absolutely awesome, and I'm definitely intending to go again next year. :)

Very Late Cast On and Early Cast Off

Hello, and happy Easter all!  I hope everyone got something awesome from the 'Easter Bunny', be it yarn, or chocolate (I got both, so I'm quite content!)

Anyway,  I finally bothered to cast on for my Lace Band Bracelet.  It`s an entry into yet another of The Yarn Attic`s KALs.  But with a deadline of April 30th, I may have left this a little tighter then I would like.

That being said, I`m amazed at how far a skein of Malabrigo Sock goes!  I got my Evening Star Cowl, my Stella By Starlight Headband, and now the Lace Band Bracelet, out of it, with still more yarn left in the ball.   It`s actually really impressive.

What's even more impressive is how my Ethereal Shawl turned out.  With a cast off of 500 + stitches, it was rather daunting.

This is it before blocking:

And this is it after blocking (and later in the day). 

It didn't even really fit spread out on the couch after I'd blocked it.   I'm glad it's a symsetrical pattern, since I had to fold it in half to get it to fit on my blocking mats!  Note to self, I need more of the mats!

But I got it done with over two weeks to spare before the deadline.  I'm quite proud of myself for that!

Notions Pouch is Done!

So despite my posts about it being an oddly written pattern, my Sundance Notions Pouch is done.

It came together quite well, once I found a written out version of the pattern on Gemmington's project page on Ravelry.   If you're reading this, thank you -very- much!

It's now holding my sewing/knitting notions, including scissors, cable needle, tapestry needle, and tape measure.

I will say, however, that I don't think the Sweater yarn was the best choice for this.  It's not very stiff, and I think this pattern would benefit from a stiffer yarn.   But since part of this was just using up leftovers from other projects, it's still alright by me.

With this done well before the KAL deadline, it frees me up to work on some of my longer languishing works in progress.  With a bit of luck, I'll finish up my other projects as well.

More Very Long Rows

I've come to a conclusion about projects with 400 or more stitches on the needles.

On the one hand, they usually turn out awesome.

On the other hand, when my method of doing chores is 'knit one row, do a chore', it means that I get a lot less done around the house!

Such has been the case with my Ethereal Shawl, but it is still coming along.  I'm onto the last chart of the pattern; and while each row takes about half-an-hour, I can see that the result is going to be stunning.

The current picture doesn't do it justice at all.

For one thing, this picture is old and I've come a lot further.  For another, the lace is all scrunched up and won't show the pattern until it's blocked. 

I'm actually really excited about the blocking process.  I have my blocking mats, and I bought some rust-proof t-pins from EatSleepKnit a while ago, so I should be good for blocking my first lace-weight shawl. I actually don't want it to grow a lot, so I'm probably not going to stretch it out a lot.  

It'll be an adventure!