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!

just for you, dear reader of my little slice o' blogland, a WIP pic of the Garden Shawl: 
yeah, and i appologize for taking a picture of lace on my insanly stripey sheets, but you get the idea.  and by the by, this thing is going to be huge.  this is just the pattern through round 55 (i think) and it's already about 16" across.  i think that it won't be so much a shawl on me as a really pretty blanket.

have you seen the new yarns at knitpicks?  they've added 9 that are shown.  they have also, however, added to their Dye-your-own line (now called "Bare").  they aren't easily found on the site though.  so, i made up a little chart that lists them all (with links) the yardage, weight, and prices.  and i thought that it might be nice to put it up here so others could buy buy buy with ease.

speaking of ease, a new Perdita for your viewing pleasure.  i used silver beads this time, and i sure do like how they look.  OH!  and the .50 three packs of the Pearl Cotton are not, i repeat, ARE NOT a myth!  if you have a Michael's near you, go and check it out.  not all the 3 pks are that cheap, some are $1 and a couple are $2.  but, wow!  i'm going to have yarn for 2227 of these babies!

oh dear god.  i have been initiated into the world of knitting with beads.  for so long, i had held out against the siren call of beads, glittery, sparkledy bits of happiness that they were.  sure, i picked up the odd bag of beads here in there, ya know, for making cutie stitch markers and the like, but it was all just innocent, i swear.  cause i knew what would happen if i gave in.  that brings me to the pattern that tempted me to the darkside--Perdita from the 06 summer Knitty.  oh, foul temptress.  i didn't succumb to any of the other beaded patterns i oohed over cause, well, they're all major investments of time and money.  but these cuffs are just the opposite.  cheap?  yeah, less than $3--and that's if i bought new beads every time.  quick?  i've completed 2 since yesterday, and i'm on my third.  and look what i picked up tonight: see all the Perle cotton?  i found it on clearance, 3 for $1.  and i've heard rumors that another big chain craft store has 'em for 50 cents. 
i've chosen beads in a smokey color and silver ones.  here are the two that i've finished so far:  i felt like a fancy Wonder Woman when i had them both on.  the steel colored one is the Blue bell pattern done in the called for thread/yarn, and it is now in the possesion of a dear friend.  the purple one is made out of Knitpicks Shadow in Vineyard (left over from the Lily stole) and it's the Lilac pattern.  it will also be going to a friend.   i love this pattern.  ah, lace--if you've ever read this blog, you know how i feel about lace. 
oh, this is a slippery slope, i can tell.  after i finished the first one, i chatted ceaselessly to the fellow for about 15 minutes about all the things i could do with beads in my knitting....save us all.

is there a prize available for being a bad blogger?  if so, someone needs to nominate me, i think!  to anyone who still checks out my little blog with any regularity, i appologize for the hiatus.  i've been knitting a lot of lace, and i am of the opinion that most lace project updates are 1)very very boring, and  2) a pain in the behind to photograph since i have to pin out the project so that it doesn't just look like a wad of yarn.  that said, here are updates on 2 of the 3 lace projects i'm working on.  i've not pictured the Garden Shawl that's on the needles.  getting it all pinned out would have driven me to drinking.  when i'm feeling braver, i'll get a picture!
this is the almost half-way done center of the Fir-cone Shawl.  i am still in deep deep love with the Lacey Lamb.  i spoke with my LYS owner, and she said that she may pick some more up at Stitches.  (and that would be nice since there is exactly 1 ball of laceweight left in the store...in a color that i'm not fond of or i would have snagged it.  i'm hoping for some aubergine, but i digress...)  to save my sanity, i don't plan on taking another pic of this until i'm onto the edging.

here is lace project 2--the Mystery Stole 2006.  i'm almost done with the first half of clue 1.  i got a late start on this since my internet went down the Friday the first clue came out and didn't get going again until the next Friday. i'm using the navy merino laceweight i picked up at the going-out-of-business sale.  i'm actually glad that i took a (blurry--sorry) photo of this.  i wasn't sure if i was digging the combonation of a cobweb weight and 3.5 mm needles was to my liking or not, and they quite are.  it's wierd the little bit of perspective that a photo can bring....

between knitting on the shawls (it's sort of a round robing process i've been using--a row here, a round there.  it keeps me on my toes), i've decided to repot all of my plants.  i snagged some beautiful pots that didn't have any drainage holes in them and today, that all is getting fixed.  if there's something i love almost as much as knitting, it's power tools.  and see the safety glasses?  i'm so proud of me!  i would like to add that the drill is not mine, it's the Fella's and i think that i may just hate it.  it's pretty weeny.  i've been drilling for, oh, 30 seconds and then i have to let the damnedable thing charge up.  i need to get another drill....anyhow, my pothos is crying out for his new home, so i better get back to playing in the dirt!!!!

so, after almost a year, i have finished the Lily of the Valley Stole from Fiddlesticks knitting.  whoo freakin' hoo!!!  now some pictures

on the top is the stole before blocking.  the right is after a vigorous stretch-and-pin session.  i attempted to use the blocks on my bedspread to show the difference in size, but i don't know if it's helpful in the least. 

Here's a close-up shot so that you can see just what a difference blocking made in opening up the pattern.  i know that i've gone off about it many times previously, but i really adore the change that takes place when you block lace!
Details
Pattern:  Lily of the Valley Stole
Yarn:  Knitpicks Shadow, vineyard; 3.25 skiens
Needles:  Bryspun circs, 3.5mm
Start/Finish:  3 sept 2005/15 june 2006
Notes:  i will never make this stole again.  don't get me wrong--the pattern is fabulously written and i love the finished project, but it really almost killed me to finish this.  the pattern is not complicated enough to demand very much attention, but it can not be completely ignored either.  i would almost prefer miles of stockinette to this.