California Girl in Oz

Well, looky, looky! Guess who has taken the plunge into lace knitting? I've started my first shawl, and it's a bit of a cliffhanger. Can you see the two (count 'em...TWO!) lifelines I've put in there? Who's a bit of a wuss when it comes to lace? I'm hanging in there, but at this point it's not looking like knitting lace is going to be my first love. Fun, but rather fiddly. There isn't much positive tension on the needles when you're working with such fine yarn and such relatively fat needles, which makes the stitches rather floppy and unstable. Still, I'm hanging in there, and it's looking good so far. Oh, and did you notice the very cool pattern holder with the magnetic line-finders I got from Knit Picks? This is a real boon for lace knitting, or any chart knitting. Don't know how I ever lived without it! The shawl is unblocked for the moment, of course, so don't be put off by the fact that it looks rather like an amoeba

Senior moment...forgot to post pics of my two February Lady Sweaters, knitted as part of the KAL on Ravelry. First one was knit with Queensland Rustic in a taupe blend, on 4.5mm needles. Don't you love the coconut shell buttons that are assymetrical in shape? This is my current go-to sweater for running around in...three quarter sleeves, slightly flared shape, gull wing lace for sleeves and body...fun, fun, fun! So then, I thought "What if I made the same sweater, with long sleeves, using just a ribbed sleeve and body below the garter stitch yoke...and wonder if I could make a ruffled edge with a dark contrast." Remembering I had a ton of Snickerdoodle Wool of the Andes from my last Knitpicks buy, I decided to launch. Turned out cute, I think, and enough different from the other one so I won't get bored with it. Used 4.5s on this one, too. I do need to restitch the buttons...must have been tipsy when I sewed them on! They don't quite line up with their bu

As you can see from this shot, Alfonse is looking like himself again...he's even managed to get his nemesis, Cloudy, to snuggle up in the Quilting Studio for a photo op! And yes, that is one of my quilts they've managed to co-opt for their pose. So, I thought for those of you who are still dropping in from time to time, you might enjoy seeing my recent progress...a friend asked for a knitted hat in "pink tones"...and since I'm nothing if not obsessive (but haven't got a lot of pink yarn in my stash), I made four versions in different combinations of the pinks I have. You can also see my first attempt at a Gansey Sweater (the purple pile on the left), and a deep red cabled scarf that is languishing for the moment. And lest you think I have forsaken quilting entirely, here's evidence that the pastel quilt remake is nearing the final stages. Only a few lines of quilting left before I get a binding on and put it on the guest bed. However, since we'r