I can knit lace after all!

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence of I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, Black Parade, one skein (29 grams left over)

Needles: Knit Picks Options circular needles, size 7

Mods: Knit 13 pattern repeats instead of 10 for a total of 243 sts before beginning border

I never thought I would be able to do it, but I've actually successfully completed a grown-up lace project. The designer is absolutely correct - this is the perfect beginning lace project. I made a couple of errors in the very beginning, and then at the very end (the errors were due to my own laziness in not paying attention, not due to the pattern, which is wonderfully written), but other than those minor stumbles, it was smooth sailing and an enjoyable knit! I'll definitely knit this one again.

In other fiber news, I paid a visit to Pittsburgh's newest yarn shop, Natural Stitches, on Friday. It's a marvelous store - huge and well organized. They have the largest selection of Malabrigo that I've ever seen in a shop, and they carry Dream in Color yarns, and what's not to love about that? I did a little shopping, of course, and brought home these goodies:


Two skeins of Dream in Color Classy (worsted) in "happy forest"


One skein of Malabrigo Lace Baby Merino in "bobby blue"


One skein of Trekking Hand Art in "tundra"

The Trekking has already been wound and cast on for a new pair of socks for Mark.

Wicked is also coming along, after I ripped and restarted the collar. The cables were looking a little wonky, so I re-knit the collar, this time loosely, and now the cables look better, but I am afraid that the collar will be too loose. I'm going to finish the raglan increases and try it on before I decide whether to rip and start again.

Show and tell.

Since I've made no real progress on Lady E as of late, today will be for show and tell. A few weeks back, Yarns By Design held a sale in honor of their first anniversary. Even though I needed to buy yarn like I need a hole in my head, I was there with bells on as soon as the shop opened and procured the following:


Four of thirteen balls of Noro Silk Garden in colorway 84


One skein of Alpaca With a Twist Fino in color 98

The Fino is a laceweight yarn, bought in a fit of optimism. Fresh off of my dubious success with the lace pattern of the Dream in Color Shrug, I was emboldened to try another lace project (and have you seen how pretty that Fino is?). It was only after the purchase and talking to some other knitters that I realized that I should probably crawl with some heavier weight yarn before running with a true laceweight one.

Since I surely did love that Dream in Color yarn and had been wanting to try their fingering weight version (Smooshy), I did a little digging on Flickr and found this lovely completed version of the Forest Canopy Shawl. I am armed with the pattern (which the designer swears is perfect for beginning lace knitters), and the yarn arrived today:


Dream in Color Smooshy, colorway "Black Parade"

Though I want to cast on for the shawl right now, I am not allowing myself to do it before I complete Lady E, or else I will never finish her. I guess I'd better get to it!

In other knitting news, my Jitterbug socks are coming along slowly as I sneak in a row here and there when I can get a seat on the bus:



I might have them finished by the time that it's cold enough to wear them!