Up to Date

I only have a few minutes but I wanted to show some updates of the projects I started with my handspun this weekend.

This update is about as exciting as broccoli.  I like broccoli and all but you're not going to write home about it, are you?  I feel like that with lace projects in progress.  They lay there and be.  That's all.  There's nothing about looking at them that's going to tell you how beautiful they're going to be when finished and blocked.  But I'm pretty much on track so I'm going to show it.  I have one more repeat of this section (16 rows) before I move on to the border section (that will be 42 rows) and then I have a short edging section (16 rows, I think).  The other thing you never quite count on is how much longer a row takes when there are 250 stitches in the row than when there were 50.  Gets me every time.

The thing that really caught my fancy this weekend was a project with recycled handspun.  I spun this a few months ago with 1 singles of mohair and 1 singles of merino.  The mohair was variegated and the merino a single color and they blended beautifully.  I started something out of it, not because it was the right project for it but I was just keen to get something started with it.  Needless to say, it wasn't the right project and I ripped it out.  Then I came across this "seafoam" pattern and it clicked.  I started it with 56 stitches across (10 + 6 for the pattern repeat) and headed off.  I wasn't sure how much yarn I had or where it was going but I was so entralled, it really didn't matter.  The stitch pattern is super simple:

Knit 2 rows (it's a garter stitch pattern).

Knit 6, yarn over twice, knit 1, yarn over 3 times, knit 1 yarn over 4 times, knit 1, yarn over 3 times, knit 1, yarn over 2 times, (repeat from the beginning to last 6 stitches), knit 6.

Knit across, dropping all the yarn overs.

Knit 2 more rows

Knit 1, yarn over twice, knit 1, yarn over 3 times, knit 1 yarn over 4 times, knit 1, yarn over 3 times, knit 1, yarn over 2 times, (repeat from the beginning to the last stitch),  knit 1

Knit across, dropping all the yarn overs

Knit 2 more rows.

Easy, right?  And I love the effect.  You can't see it here but I added a button and buttonhole to the corner there and it makes a right lovely capelet.