Oh for a good night's sleep!

I am so sleep deprived right now I am seeing double. Well okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration but still, I am t-i-r-e-d! Huge long day yesterday - straight from work to a dinner party that I helped put together, then of course, I had to stay for the dinner. I hardly got in the door and got changed before my phone rang. It was a friend needing help putting together a wine list. It didn't help that he must have been drinking the wine for a couple hours before he decided he needed to make the list. He needed help formatting his Word document, so two or three email exchanges later I had fixed the list enough so that he could finish it. I hope. I quit checking messages at 9. Oh all I wanted was to sit down and read the paper in peace, then fall asleeeeeeeep. But little Tink needed play time and you can't blame her. Cooped up all day with a silly cat that refused to play. So we played "chase the squirrel" until I was cross-eyed. I had to wear her out so she would sleep. I did fall asleep but must have awakened 3 or 4 times during the night thinking about work. Thank goodness it's a 3-day weekend coming up, is all I can say. And I'm hoping for bad weather so I can't work in the yard, because that's really what I should be doing. It's not too hot here - only 65 today. It makes for perfect running weather, especially when it's a bit cloudy and even though it's a bit early the leaves are starting to fall on the trail because it's been such a dry summer. I love running in this weather. It's very very hot in Paris though - 91 today. Even so, I am homesick.

Friday Night's concert AND Why I prefer to knit in the round

I finally finished that cashmere cardigan. Basically I just sacrificed my whole Saturday and got it done. And it illustrates perfectly why I much prefer to knit in the round. First it took me two solid hours to sew the shoulders, set in the sleeves and sew up the sides and sleeves. That is a picture of it put together and ready to pick up the 223 stitches around the front and neck. I got wise this time though and used a crochet hook to help me pick up the stitches. Time elapsed -- 1 hour. By that time my back was just screaming from being hunched over the table for so long. But did I quit there? Noooooooo, not by a long shot. Those 223 stitches had to be turned into 446 stitches if it was going to be a ruffle like the sleeves and back edging. Luckily for me it was preseason football and the Seahawks were playing, so I headed downstairs and kept at it. I almost ... almost ... made it but I ran out of yarn at about 10:30, 1/2 way through binding off. So I finished it up Sunday and here it is. It's really cute on, although rather snug. But so is the other one and I think that's partly what makes it so cute. I was going to make I-cord ties, but I think I'll just fasten it with a pin if I fasten it at all. I have a black V-neck shell that will look fine under it (the ruffle is predominantly black) but I would like to whip up a matching shell for it sometime. It shouldn't take too long. It' s just finding the time. Putting it into the queue, as it were.

So that was the biggest part of my weekend. Friday night though we went to a concert - a trio made of Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clark and Bela Fleck. Of course I know they're not exactly mainstream but I always liked Jean-Luc Ponty (back in the day) and Bela Fleck is pretty cool. Oh but the three of them together .... painful. One hour of it would have been fine but two? Torture. Too avant garde. Too out there. Too boring. And then to top it off, Seattle had to come off looking like a hick town. The last thing they played was a suite in 3 movements. Stanley Clark introduced it as such - a suite in 3 movements. Now we have all learned in grade school that one doesn't applaud between movements! Oh but of course, people couldn't keep their hands from clapping in any little bit of silence. It's embarrassing!! And don't even get me started on the ridiculous practice of giving everyone a standing ovation. That sends me right around the bend.

Well, anyway.

Nothing Compares To You

It's funny how a song can come on the radio & just send you back in time.

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

A perfect fit!!

This is the swatch I made last night for Ruth's cabled shrug out of the Peruvian Highland Wool. The gauge is absolutely SPOT ON! I have never knit a swatch that matched so perfectly as this does. I am thrilled! Now I just have to get her to pick a color. Of course, I want to start on this right now, but I am going to be strong ... ;-). I won't be able to work on the cardigan tonight because I'm going to see Dad and cook him dinner and a smoke filled apartment is no place for a new garment to hang out. And tomorrow is the Jean-Luc Ponty concert at the Pier so nothing Friday night. But this weekend for sure I'm going to sew that baby together and pick up those stitches and finish it up. THEN it's Erik's sweater jacket, the felted basket and THEN Ruth's shrug. I swear ... if only I didn't have to work all day......

Ooooo look what I got!

I ordered some of Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool and received it yesterday. Again, a bad picture. The colors are a dark brown and the ones that look blue are really more of a dusky purple. I am going to use it to make a felted basket that I'm going to fill with some luxe wool and needles and donate for a charity auction in a couple months. I wanted to try out this wool for the cabled shrug that I'm going to make my friend Ruth. I am going to swatch it tonight - a BIG swatch with one of the cable patterns. It probably won't work because it looks to be true worsted weight and the pattern calls for chunky. But really, you never know with gauge and it would be a wonderful yarn for that pattern. I know it'll work for the felted basket, so I can swatch all I want and then frog it and use it for the bag. I am going to make it with two strands. It should be nice and strong. Don't you just love felting?

I wanted to start my swatch right away yesterday evening, but I made myself finish the sleeves to that cardigan! It's all done and ready to be put together. I probably won't get to it tonight though because I want to play with this yarn. But it looks like I'll be able to wrap up that project this weekend. Woohoo!!

More on Monday Night Football

I know -- another crummy picture from my cell phone. But it's so COOL to be able to post to my blog from wherever I am! That's a picture from my seats at Qwest stadium. And oh they are p-o-s-h!! Comfy and cushioned and covered -- in the club level. We have a VIP entrance as well. I still can't say that they're worth the price ... but almost! Now if they threw in a massage or something like that, then definitely! There are other good things about the club level - the food and drink areas are also inside. Well, it's just nice. Too bad the Seahawks couldn't win, but oh well, it's only pre-season. It doesn't count!!

Monday night football

You should be here!

How did I do that???

I've got to quit taking pictures with my camera phone. They just don't come out well in the house. But anyway, I think it's clear enough to see what I did. I was working on my sleeves yesterday. I really wanted to finish them. I always knit my sleeves at the same time, just working two balls of yarn. That way they're always just the same because if I'm going to goof up, I will do it to both of them. And also there's just something so daunting about having just one more sleeve to do. Anyway, what I did was knit not one, but two rows on a sleeve with the other sleeve's yarn!! So I had to frog two rows. Now not normally a big problem, except that I'm working with three strands of fingering yarn on each sleeve. HUGE hassle! I managed to do it without dropping any stitches but I had to put it away after that even though I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was too nerve wracking.

Tonight is the first home pre-season Seahawks game and I've got tickets. It's a Monday Night Football game, so it starts at 5. I can't wait!!! Yay football!!

Tink looks like a lion

Poor little Tink. I took her to the groomer yesterday. Now that her skin is better and her hair is growing back she can get groomed. Unfortunately, because her hair got so long there were mats that I couldn't comb out on her behind. She just had to be shorn but they left her head long like a Westie. I think she looks like a lion. Cute, but .... odd and very teensie. This is not a very good angle but maybe you can see what I mean.

What I learned yesterday

I was tinkering with my template yesterday, adding some links, and I was looking through some of the other options that are available for this blog. One of them is a yes/no toggle to let your site be catalogued by a particular blog site. I said yes and wow! what a mistake!! In a matter of minutes "comments" were coming in. They weren't really comments but spamming from commercial blogs! I have my comments set for "anyone" rather than the other option which is that one must be a registered user of this blogger to comment. I turned off the option as soon as I could. What a hassle. All is well now.

I thought I was going to have to work this weekend but just found out that I don't have to work after all! Yay!! That means that I should be able to finish up this cardigan. The sleeves have about 3 or 4 more hours to go, at the most. I'd say I've got about 8 more hours to go on this one. I think I'm going to time myself for the next project, just for fun.

Just a little teensie rant

I've been thinking about something I read on a knitting forum ..... people were talking about projects they're starting for gifts for the holidays. One person complained that her friends didn't seem to "appreciate" the gifts they had received from her and so this year she was going to knit things and donate them to charity and present them with a card saying that such and such was knitted by her and donated to such and such a charity in their name!! Now I don't know about you, but for me knitting is pure self indulgence. I do it because I enjoy it and it gives me pleasure in many ways. Sure, I do indeed give hand knit gifts BUT you have to know your recipients. I either ask the person beforehand if they would like and wear whatever I have in mind for them, or I make them something very unique and luxe - not just any old garter stitch scarf out of acrylic yarn. [Not that I'm saying that is what she calls a gift, mind you.] Taste is such a personal thing and that's why I usually ask before I go spend countless hours and lots of money for an item someone isn't going to appreciate or wear. I think it's just a tad bit ... snippy and selfish to say that you're going to indulge yourself by making something YOU want to make and then donating it in another's name just because they didn't happen to go all crazy about whatever little scarf and hat duo you happened to give them last year. Well anyway ... just had to say it.

I don't know if my cat and dog read this blog or not, but in any case:

NOTE TO THOSE ANIMALS SHARING MY BED

Just because the clock says AM it does NOT mean that it's morning!!! Four o'clock is not morning. It's the middle of the freaking night! Let's all try to get more sleep, eh??

Oh joy! It's raining!!

I know I know ... it's Seattle and it's supposed to rain. But it's been ages and ages since it's rained and also it's been very hot, so this is a nice break. I haven't been enjoying all this hot weather. I know I am lucky that it's not humid as well, like on the east coast, but still .... Anyway, it was a lovely bike ride in this morning. The rain has mostly stopped so it was just misting a bit. Very refreshing.

I only got a teensie bit more done on my sleeves last night. Now I am determined to work at this thing and get it done so I can start work on Erik's big sweater/jacket thingie. I have so many projects that I want to do and I would start all of them and end up with like 8 projects sitting around in various states. So I need to discipline myself to finish. I don't let myself have more than 3 projects going at a time. That way I don't get bored and 3 is an acceptable number is works in progress for me. I may have to work this weekend though, so that's going to seriously cut into my knitting time. Oh well.

Tink's visit to the vet

Hooray! Took Tinkerbell to the vet yesterday and she's doing very well. The mites are gone and her allergies are just being managed by the Benedryl. We just have to wait and see if she gets worse or whatever. Not excellent news, that, but since things are okay now we'll take it. She can get groomed again and get caught up on her shots and she's not too itchy, so things are definitely better. And she and Wendy are getting along better every day. Last night they slept on the bed without incident - Wendy up top and Tink on the bottom or in between us. I will throw a party the day they play together.

I got some work done on the necklace idea I had - I managed to copy that one from Anthropologie right on the first go! So I'm going to get some fresh water pearls and make a couple for gifts or maybe to donate to an auction.

I also got the latest IK and found a shrug in there that I so want to make for my friend Ruth. I think it would really suit her. Here are a couple views of it. It calls for $300 of a cashmere/silk blend yarn. It think I'll find a substitute that is a little more cost effective, eh? Although wouldn't it be wonderful to do it in that yarn. I'll bet it's amazing.






I got a good bit done on the sleeves of the cardigan. It's getting to be football season - great for knitting because I can sit and watch games and not feel that I'm wasting time. Here are the sleeves. With any luck I should have this thing almost done by the weekend.

Busy weekend

It was a H-O-T weekend as well as busy. Thankfully this weather is supposed to break this week and we may even get some rain. Hooray! I was in the car for much of yesterday, traveling to a memorial picnic and back again. I had planned on getting TONS done on the sleeves of my cardigan but the air conditioning didn't work, so it made it a little difficult to get going. We took the ferry one way and so I was able to cast on and actually made some progress last night after I got home. Kitty loves to play with me while I'm knitting. Go figure - a cat that likes yarn! She's just as bad as the dog though, because Tink also likes to play with my knitting. She destroyed a couple of projects in the works before I learned to put my knitting up off the floor if she was going to be unsupervised. I'm going to take pictures of the sleeves tonight to post. This cardigan is going to be so cute! I think that I might make a shell from the left over Optiks that I'm using as trim (as suggested by Sylv). It would make a cute set and if it doesn't suit me, it would be good for my sister.

On Sunday I also made a quick stop at the bead store to get some beads to experiment with copying a necklace that I saw on the Anthropoligies site. Theirs uses pearls but I just got some glass beads to fool around with. If I can make it look like I can picture it in my head, then I'll get pearls.

Saturday.

This is the picture that should have been up Saturday. Waiting for BB King. The concert was good. It was hot outside but it got better once the sun went down a bit.

Sunday

Waiting for the ferry.

Just a quick observation

I was thinking - writing in this blog is so reminiscent of when I was living in Paris and wildly in love. I would blather on in daily emails about the minutiae of my life, confident that the reader was spell bound and eager for more. And I guess it's with that confidence that I continue to blather on. And on. Stop me if you've heard it before.

Oh this dog and cat thing!

I can't describe (though I'll try) how strange it is sometimes to have a cat around. Poor Tinkerbell - I feel sorry for her sometimes. Wendy is becoming a bully, although I know it's just her survival instinct. They are getting better at being in the same room together but when the cat is on the couch and Tink comes by, for example to perhaps get up in my lap, the cat just pounces! Last night the cat was in the corner by the TV and Tink was playing ball with me, but when she would get the ball she would go to the kitty and make a play posture. She wants to play with the cat! But the cat is afraid of her and so goes on the defensive and attacks. It's less nerve wracking than it's been though because they've been making progress. When I go to bed I leave the door open to the upstairs. Last night Tink decided she wanted to start the night out under the bed. I was nearly asleep when the kitty jumped on the bed! But then Tinkerbell sensed she was there and SHE wanted on the bed. Off goes the cat, on goes the dog. Everything was just getting settled and I was almost asleep when the cat comes back and peeps up onto the bed. Tink's head came up like a gopher and away went the cat again, only to come back in a few minutes and up she came! She stayed WAAAAYYY up top and Tink went from the bottom to the middle, but everyone was quiet and happy and mostly slept through the night. Now if only they could get along that well during waking hours.

It was much cooler yesterday, plus the air conditioning is on in my office and can't be turned off, so I was actually cold! I ended up working on my mohair blankie last night. I'm going to be slipping it onto my longest circular needles so I'll take a picture of it's progress. I am quite please. It's going to be very pretty I think. The colors are super. And I've got a long car ride on Sunday so I'm going to wind another ball of that Optiks and make the two sleeves for the cardigan - or rather, start them. I should be able to get a good start on Sunday.

Woohoo!

Well hooray! I actually rode my bicycle to work today, finally. It's been one week since the dreaded door incident. No problems although I was just a little more careful than usual. And my bruises and swelling are getting much better as well so hopefully I can have a run tomorrow. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is glad that I'm getting better. I can get a little cranky when I can't run or ride.

I bought this yarn from ebay for that sweater from Vogue Knits. It looks a little bit darker than the picture but who knows really. All the pattern says is purple and it's purple. Could be last season's purple but I like the color. I think it will suit the pattern well.

I only worked a little bit on my orange cashmere whatever-it-is. It is such a portable project because it's in the round and I'm just working on the body so I take it when I can knit but can't count, like when I go visit my Dad. It's looking really big though so I think I'd better try it on and see what's up. I might have to frog it and try again. I cast on a large neck opening because I wanted it to be off the shoulder a little bit, or at least to the edge, but after making all of the increases down to the arm pit and putting the sleeves on waste yarn, the body looks pretty large. Well, I never know until I try it on so I should do that tonight.

Wedesday blues

I'm going to try again to post that picture of the swatch. Let's see if it works ...... Ah ha! it worked. Don't know what was up with my laptop yesterday but I was in no mood to sit there and try to figure it out. I should have had a hand or finger in this picture so there would be some perspective. But it's about six inches long and about 3 high. It's going to be quite spectacular when it's done, if I do say so myself.

And this is the sweater I was talking about from Vogue Knitting that I'm going to do next.










Bleh. I still feel icky but I am at work trying to get my engine going. At least it's cloudy today and therefore not so hot. Only 62 and it shouldn't get over 75 today. That's a good thing anyway. I am tired of sweltering.

The cat and dog thing is starting to wear on me. I wish they'd just figure it out. Still Tink feels invaded and the kitty seems to think that the basement is her private domain since we've had her spending most of her time there. Yesterday afternoon we were all upstairs and then we all came downstairs so I could get the laundry. The cat made it down first then turned and just attacked poor little Tinkerbell! Tink doesn't want to attack the cat, she wants to play! I am sure they'll figure it out, but not soon enough to suit me.

Was it the yummy dinner?

No work today. I am not feeling at all well. And no I don't think it's because of too much celebration. I've managed to keep a cup of cocoa down and a piece of toast. We'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully this is a 24 hour thing. I've got stuff to do!! At work, I mean.

I swatched the Basketcase Sweater I'm going to be making for the BF. It's going to be very cool. I've never worked with Rowan Big Wool. In this case it's going to make the project bearable because it's more of a jacket than a sweater - I mean it's huge. So it won't be dragging on forever if I'm using size 15s. Well for some reason this won't let me add a picture today. I'll try later. I need to go lay down.

Birthday dinner.

Yum! See what my baby cooked!

Happy birthday to me!

It's my birthday and I'm having a vacation day. I slept in and ran some errands and now I have the whole rest of the afternoon to knit or read or take a nap ..... whatever I want! Maybe a little of all three. I finished up the left front of the cardigan yesterday. Those front pieces go very fast.

Things are still strange and noisy in cat and dog land. The cat did come upstairs last night. She is getting bolder. Tink just can't get over the fact that something else is in HER house but it seems that she is getting a little more used to her. At least she doesn't bark continuously any more. That was wearing a little thin, for sure.

My bruises are getting very colorful. I was in the bagel store yesterday morning and it was hot so I was just wearing a little camisole top. As I was leaving I noticed this woman just totally checking me out and I couldn't understand what was up with that until I caught a glimpse of my arm in a mirror. Dang! I look like somebody beat the tar out of me! Today I wore a little shrug to cover it up. It's embarrassing!

Cats & Dogs & Dogs & Cats

Well it's not going to be easy. We tried to get the two together last night by just opening the door between the upstairs and downstairs and letting things flow naturally. Wendy the cat was upstairs when Tink came in and she promptly went under the bed where she hid for about an hour. Tempted out by a piece of cheese she joined us downstairs because Tink was outside. Once she came back in though the cat hid behind the couch for the rest of the night until I took the dog upstairs for bed. I guess this is going to take some time. At least the cat stood her ground. They don't have to be buddies. I would just be happy with them each giving the other their space and peacefully coexisting. Is this too much to ask? I sure hope not.

What a whiner

I feel like a big ol' whiney baby but .... ooooooooch! I am more sore today from that crash than I was yesterday. I worked a little bit on my orange cashmere T-shirt while I was getting my hair done, but other than that it was just too hot to knit yesterday. I am going to have a long weekend so I hope to be able to get the back of that cardigan done and get a good start on the fronts. I am very anxious to get that done. I think it's going to be one of the best things I've made. Ooo! And I bought the yarn for one of the Vogue patterns - the purple lace peplum thingie. I got a great deal on the yarn it calls for - Alpaca Regal. I must make myself wait to start that though, because I promised to start the BF's big jacket first and I do have all the yarn for that so ... it'll have to wait. But it'll be nice to have the yarn to look at. It is going to be super soft.

Our new cat!

Wendy the cat. Already at home.

Crash and owie!!

The bicycle gods are out to get me. Perhaps because of my rant Tuesday? I don't know ... but I got whacked pretty good yesterday on the way home. Thankfully I had met up with a friend along the way so we weren't going very fast, since we were chatting. As he stopped to go up the hill I was just starting to accelerate when I noticed a car door opening. The door stopped, so I figured the person had seen me since I saw his head in the mirror and so I kept going. Wham! He opened his door right as I went by and knocked me over. He was hesitating not because he had seen me but because he was picking up an empty chips bag!! Thankfully Andy was still close enough to hear the crash and he came and helped me out of the street and walked me and my bicycle home. No blood, but bruises. Lots of bruises. Of course the man in car was very apologetic. I just wanted to get off my back, out of the street and on my way. I felt very undignified. Cars stopped. People came out of their houses. I hurt then but oh dear, it was much worse later and today I feel awful. I wish I didn't have to be at work, but I do. Oh well. I could have been worse.

The good news is that we get to break a cat out of jail. Here she is. No name for her yet although 'Wendy' is the current favorite. I took this with my phone last night at the shelter in their "Get Acquainted" room. It is very strange there - little rooms for people to try out the cat and see if it's a fit. This is my first time at adopting an animal. Since there are so many adult cats around I just think it's the most humane thing to do rather than go looking for a kitten. She's a very nice kitty. Now hopefully Tink won't go totally bonkers with an addition to the family. It's going to be interesting.

Tink's ears

Poor little Tinkerbell!! I just seem to get one problem under control and another pops up. I noticed a couple days ago that she was scratching a bit at her ears, mostly her right one. I took a peek inside and it seemed okay so I thought maybe it was because we were switching from one antihistamine to another. But the next day it seemed redder and, remembering the problem I had with Jack's ears when I let him go swimming, I thought I'd better take her up to the vet. Sure enough, she's got a yeast infection in both ears! Not bad, thankfully, but still. I have to bathe her twice a week until we can get the skin problem taken care of .... and really, she's looking MUCH better these days ... and so perhaps I got some water in her ears and that's all it takes, especially since she'd been on antibiotics for two weeks. I just want to find out what she's allergic to so we can stop this cycle, but I won't be able to do that until August 15, which is our next visit to the dermatologist. Until then ... ear drops and massage twice a day along with all of the other stuff we're doing. She's such a good dog though -- just takes it with a doggie smile.

I got a lot of work done on the back of that cardigan last night. Hopefully I can get it (the back that is) finished up tonight, or nearly so. It's going to be a bold little cardigan even though it's a muted yellow. I hope it's not too circus-like. I don't fancy looking any more like a clown than I already do.

Just open your eyes

Today is a rant. Not a major one but something that really irks me. I ride my bike to work everyday, year around. It's not my exercise - I go to the gym or run every day for exercise - it's how I get to work. So I'm not out there racing or anything, I just ride. Once spring and summer show up here in Seattle we get the "fair weather" bicyclists. They're easy to spot. Their bike clothes are trendy and new as opposed to my beat up bike shorts, mismatched t-shirts and road-oil stained jacket. Their bikes are shiny and their panniers spotless. They also are clueless how to ride and share the road with cars. It's no wonder that people driving cars hate bicyclists when there are these idiots out there! My biggest complaint is the person who bikes up to an intersection and leans up against the curb, effectively blocking the intersection so the cars behind them can't come up and make a right turn. At the end of my street this is what most of the cars want to do because if one goes straight, like I do to, only pedestrians or cyclists can get across the bridge. So, to get to the freeway they must turn right. It's a simple thing, people. If you're going straight, be polite and put yourself in the middle of the street so cars can get around you!! Or if you're afraid of cars, get on the sidewalk and press the crossing button to make the light change even faster! Some girl was blocking the intersection today and I know I should have said something, but it's just so freaking obvious! There were THREE CARS BEHIND HER!! She's lucky it wasn't me because I would have honked!

Whew. Okay, rant off. On another note I worked some more on my yellow cashmere cardi last night. The back is the worst beccause it's just essentially a large rectangle. Once that is done the front sides go quickly beause they're triangles - start out with a few stitches, increase up to a point and decrease back down. Then the sleeves - but I do them together on long needles so it seems to go faster. I am so into this one project that I don't want to work on anything else. Not enough hours in the day.

Inspiration

I was selling some stash on eBay and some went and some didn't. The Berocco Optik didn't get a nibble. It had been sitting in a pile with other odds and ends and it was next to a bag of yellow recycled cashmere I had bought a few months ago and hadn't decided what to do with yet. But as I looked at them together I thought how cool that Optik would be as a ruffled trim. I get so many compliments on that Knit1 cropped cardigan I made that I decided to use the yellow cashmere as the body and instead of ribbing use the Optik as a ruffled edge. I started right away and it's looking awesome and the drape of the fabric is just wonderful. This picture was taken with my phone - which takes good pictures depending upon the light and the light wasn't that great but it gives the general idea.

I received the latest issue of Vogue knits and found two sweaters in there that I really want to make. So that makes 3 projects for myself that I still need to get the wool for. The Loop-d-loop Lace Leaf sweater is the one that I had been planning on making next. I am waffling a bit though because 1) the grafting of the body right in the middle of the chest seems a dicey proposition to me and 2) I am now totally in love with these two sweaters!! So we'll see. I'll most likely make the purple one first unless I can score some Rowan Big Wool at a good price. I'm not thinking of doing this one in orange though. Maybe blue.

Also I finally finally finished my Branching Out Scarf. It needs blocking though. The fuzzy yarn (Reynolds Frisky) wasn't the best choice I know since the lace pattern is mostly obscured. Probably when it's blocked it'll look more lacey. On the up side it hides the multitude of mistakes I made. I am not all that keen on lace knitting. I mean it looks nice but it is not a social project. No chatting. Just knitting. Not my style. I like to multi task.