i can't wait to see all the utterly witty titles pertaining to dragons that i can come up with while i'm knitting the HBDS....i appologize in advance!  lots of interest in keeping you all updated on the progress, trials, and tribulations of the HBDS, so i will do my best to oblige.  i've decided to post WIP pics when i complete a chart set (the pattern has the charts broken into 4 sections).  in that vein, here's the pics of Chart 1 (82 rows down!) completed: as of right now, i'm loving the pattern.  it is a great deal more involved that a lot of the knitting that i have been doing, and i'm tinking back a lot.  since there aren't really vertical pattern repeats (or horizontal, for that matter) i'm not using any life lines (that and i don't really use them all that much anyhow).  the pattern is worked on both right and wrong sides, so there isn't even a purl-respite every other row.  that's where a lot of the tinking has come into play.  there is a stitch used called the Horizontal stitch that i was not familiar with, and the instructions as written in the pattern were a bit unclear (imho).  i did some searching and sussed it all out, and now i'm enamoured of that particular stitch.  here's a detail picture that shows how the dragon form is made in a twisted latice type stich and how the horizontal stitches come into play.  now to print off chart two!

i recieved the Heere Be Dragone Shawl (HBDS hereafter) pattern in the mail on Saturday.  how fast was that???  (crazy fast is the correct answer)  i ordered it on thursday!  that's some stellar service, imho.  and the shawl is just as cool on paper with all the nutso charts.  looking at the charts, i felt something that i haven't felt in my knitting in a loooooong time--a tinge of fear!  the dragon motif is made up of lots of different types of twisted stitches, many that i've never seen before.  and, as of right now, it looks like it's going to be an interesting and slightly challenging knit.  of course, check back as the project moves along, cause you know how that can change over night! 
so, as i mentioned before, i got the HBDS pattern to make for a friend (Ms. HBD).  after going through my lace weight stash (which is not as large as i would like) i found that i had 1760 yds of KnitPicks Bare that had been previously dyed a sort of washed out mix of purples, fuchsias, and periwinkle-y blues.  it lacked a certain "umph", really.  so, i thought "well, Ms. HBD likes (and looks good in) blues, why don't we try an overdye and see if we can get some depth and darkness into this washed out mess.  that way, stash yarn is used and the project costs a measly $12"!  so, i skiened up all 1760 yds, tied it off, mixed up a big ol' pot of blue/purple dye and set the fuckers on the stove to simmer.  i ended up with something that looks sort of like this:  now, i'm utterly in love with how it turned out.  the picture simply doesn't do it justice (this is the best out of, oh 35, so...)  it's soooo rich.  i normally don't like my lace to be verigated at all, but this yarn makes me squeal a little bit.  from far off, it's this deeply purple-y red, and as you move in closer, the separate colors begin to assert themselves and EEEEEE!!!!  i just love it a lot.  however, i've never seen Ms. HBD where anything even remotely similar to the shade, and i became worried.  i inquired of a mutal friend (Ms. Skull Vest) "so, how does Ms. HBD feel about purple?"  "She likes greens a lot.....(really long pause) I don't know about purple."  yeah, that's exactly what i wanted to hear.  so, after deliberation, i've decide that i'm going to place a Knit Picks order and pick up some of the Alpaca Cloud in Moss for the HBDS.  it's green and alpaca, a good combonation as Ms. HBD has recently discovered how warm alpaca is and seems to be smitten with the fiber.  and it green, which apparently she really likes.  and, at $16 for the yarn and $12 for the pattern, it's still an affordable project. 
i should have known when i found these yesterday morning taking xavier out, that it would all work out with the yarn.  cause now, i get to make myself something out of the re-dyed Bare, which is awsome, cause i was getting sad about giving it away!