New Toy

My dream of having a digital SLR camera has finally come true! I haven't been able to take many pictures with it yet, what with having no children and the cat being unwilling to play along. But my knitting always cooperates, and here is the christening gown after what feels like a month of knitting.

Not bad eh? Thats about 5 maybe 6 inches, only 10-15 more to go (I can't believe I just had to type only 10-15 more inches...seems like a nightmare) So far so good, the pattern has been easy enough to memorize, and at this rate will probably be forever burned into my brain. Surprisingly this ease of memorization has made this a very portable project, you wouldn't think so to look at it, but it actually travels very well.

Speaking of pattern, here's a closeup of the lace, formerly impossible without creative editing, but thanks to Nikon, here it is. And this much has been knit from 1 skein of Knit Picks sock yarn, I joined the new ball right after this little photo shoot was finished. I just hope my friend loves this thing, I'm trying to keep it a surprise until it's finished.

I'm also working on the Spring 09 Mystery Shawl by Goddess Knits, no pictures of that yet though, haven't finished the first clue yet. This is the pattern that will hopefully keep me from going postal from knitting the same lace repeats over and over and over for 15-20 inches. So far so good, I'm still enchanted with both projects. Renee does such a fantastic job with these mystery projects that this is my 4th! Granted, I haven't finished my Halloween one yet, but thats only because my crochet hook for the beads is MIA and I haven't had time to make it to the store to get another one small enough. Pictures of the current MS in progress to come soon hopefully.

Treading Water

Folks, I find myself in a hole. One that I just keep trying to dig out of, and I keep giving myself bigger, and bigger shovels. It all started with an idea, my friend was searching for the perfect christening gown at the mall and was shocked by the outrageous prices. I casually mentioned that I could make her one for less than they wanted for even the simplest of dresses....which would be where I started digging. I half heartedly looked up some patterns, didn't find any that really did anything for me, so I grabbed a big ol shovel full of dirt and cast on a prototype of my very own.

And here it is, in all of its acrylic glory...not. The reaction was lukewarm, despite assurances that the "real" version won't look like this one. For example, the "real" version would be made of cotton or wool (or blend) and would be longer....and actually have a relationship with the size of the baby (unlike the prototype, which is smaller than newborn). The idea was abandoned for quite a while before crunch time started setting in.

Now the next time we went over, she hands me a bigger shovel and says "can you still make that christening gown?" To which I reply that of course I can, lets look for a pattern. And she falls in love with a Dale of Norway pattern that is very delicate lace. But she doesn't want long sleeves, and she doesn't want it the full length (thank goodness, 30" of skirt is Alot). But she does need it by May 24, which leaves me little under a month to get it done.

Fast forward a bit to yesterday, when the yarn finally arrives (and is perfect, thank you knit picks) and I cast on 480 stitches and....wait for it, join them to work in the round....without twisting. That was an experience that I think turned some of my hairs gray. Couple that with pet sitting and a very curious german shepard that has become my bff, and it really gets interesting. But so far so good, we have success and have almost 6 rounds done so far. But because it really can't go this smoothly, the join on my lovely knit picks interchangable circ is coming loose from the needle. So I need to transfer 480 stitches to another one before this one falls apart and takes my sanity with it (so help me, I am not re casting on for this). I think I need to stop digging...