I’m trying to be a good girl, and actually give a little word-space to all the stuff I’ve been too lax to blog up proper in the past few months. To that end, I present Part the Second: LACE STUFF.

I knit this shawl up, as they say down at the docks, for the halibut. I had the yarn from a gifty-swap thing from eons ago, and was itching to knit up the pattern, but had no real need or desire for a wine-red lace shawl. Mr. Boyfriend’s mama, however, had no such compunction, so it went home with her after they came for a visit in March. The yarn is KnitPicks Shimmer Lace, a handpainted alpaca/silk blend. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. It knit up beautifully, and wasn’t as hairy or itchy as I thought it would be. The pattern is a free one called Winter Thaw, and is a total cinch. That picture is taken with it hung on our closet door, so a ball and a half (approx. 600 yards) blocked into an almost-7 foot shawl. Pretty!

Many moons ago, I commissioned a yarn from the lovely Jen at 76knits (link). She dyes yarns and names them after quotes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Anyone who knows me even a little will be able to understand the appeal. I asked for a color inspired by Xander’s characterization of country music: “the music of pain.” And Jen, of course, delivered most admirably. I waited around for ages for the right pattern for this super-special yarn to come along, and it finally did. Gaenor is a sweet little shawlette knit from end to end, which I thought (and rightly so) would show off the variegation to its best advantage.