I have another finished project to share today! This one I finished over the weekend, although I still need to weave in ends and block.
It looks like wings! 🙂 I think it will be stunning once I block out the lace so you can see the beautiful diamond pattern. Here’s a close-up from while I was knitting it:
I loved knitting this one and could totally see myself making it again. The lace pattern was complex enough to keep me interested, but not so hard that I got frustrated. I could watch TV, but nothing that needed a lot of attention. And the pattern was forgiving enough that a few times, when I got to the end of a row and was off a stitch, I could fudge it without it being too noticeable. (Yes, I tried to find my mistake first, but sometimes I just couldn’t and it was easier to knit one instead of k2tog than tink a row or two.)
Pattern: Elizabeth’s Diamond Shawlette
Yarn: KnitPicks Galileo, color Abalone. It took a little over 2 skeins, around 350 yards. I LOVED this yarn. It’s a merino/bamboo blend and it’s heavenly.
In other news, I’m still working on the crochet slippers and they’re going faster now, but to get the stitches tight enough, it’s working my wrist and elbow harder, so I might take a wee break from those. I did notice that the designer has added more notes to the pattern, and they’re good, helpful notes, so future crocheters will have an easier time of it than I did.
Also: I’m going to be a test knitter for the first time!! I have no idea what the protocol is, whether I can talk about details or if it’s a secret, but I’ll let you know as soon as I can. I feel like this is a big step for me, like I’m becoming a “real knitter” now.
Sun is shining and the French Open is on TV today, so my day is bright. Hope yours is too!
At the time, I thought I might make a pair for myself, plus I want to make a few new dishcloths and washcloths. Gotta buy the yarn when it’s cheap, right?
Then it was time to use the small hook (B, 2.25mm) to make the first round, and that was pretty hard to get used to. The holes weren’t quite big enough for the yarn, working around the rubber sole was awkward, and I did split the foam twice. But finally I got to switch to the bigger hook (G, 4.0mm) and away I went. I followed the pattern exactly. I kept going even when it looked suspiciously large, when meant that when I was done, I had this huge clog-type monstrosity. I frogged that without any photos. Second attempt included a decrease row and created this lovely…thing. 
It’s not a great photo, I know, but I think you can tell it’s still rather tall. Also, it was supposed to be a size 7, and I could get it on my size 9 1/2 foot without stretching the cotton too much. Frogged again. This time I went back and read some comments, and someone else’s slipper came out super-size, and the author mentioned that maybe her holes were farther apart and the yarn was stretching more. So that’s a big thing right there: my holes were exactly 1/4″ apart and that was too close together. Let that be a lesson to you.
Grace approved.
I can actually admit they’re kind of cute.
We saw Alice Through the Looking Glass in 3D. Fun movie, not as good as the first of course, but I did enjoy seeing Alice and the Hatter again. I don’t think the 3D was worth the extra cost, though.
I’m quite pleased with it. I used a little over a skein and a half, plenty left over for a matching hat and then some. Now I just need to take some better photos outside and get it listed on Etsy!
Grace says it smells just fine. I’ve got the tail begun and this project should be complete by the end of the day. Woohoo!
I added on the second skein after flute lesson and knit some more last night while the boys watched The Flash. (Season finale! So dramatic!) I’m in love with this scarf and this yarn. 
Much Pretty! So Rainbow!
After the first time through the repeat, it’s been smooth sailing. It’s working up nicely and is a lovely way to show off the yarn. But no matter how hard I try to keep the yarn loose, it still puckers up, which is what I noticed the last few times I used the butterfly stitch. It’s just heavily textured, and I’m okay with that. Gives it more visual interest. The yarn is Show Me Yarn’s Cyclone in the All Dressed Up colorway, and it’s marvelous to knit with.
Sure, Jack looks all cute and friendly, but in reality, he’s not great in a crowd. He’s protective enough that he’s uneasy with all the people and pulls hard to sniff them out. Or when he wants to greet another dog, he thinks he has to bark and act all crazy. *I* know he’s not trying to attack; I know my dog. I know his body language and barks and having seen both “on edge/aggressive” and “hey I just want to see hello”, I can tell the difference. But they don’t, and I know he sounds scary, so trying to manage him was a challenge.
Grace did better. She just wanted to lick all the people, play with all the dogs, and follow me when I walked away with Jack to help him calm down. So she was a bit wild, but in a friendly, non-scary way. And in her spare time, she wriggled around and ate grass. 
Jack finally calmed down enough to sit on the girl’s foot and hang out in the audience…until someone walked up with a bike. Bikes freak him out, so off we went again to walk off the crazy. I think it was good practice for him, but he’ll never be a big-crowd party animal.
and I finished a fingerless glove while I waited:Â 
bonnyknits 