A change of pace

I've knit a lot this year. (So much that I've been asked who's doing my day job.) Knitting recharges me and allows me an escape from the stresses of life. (And exchanges it with other stresses. Instead of worrying about tenure or the state of the U.S. economy, I stress about whether I have enough yarn to finish a sweater.) And since I have the attention span of a puppy (Squirrel!) it's a good thing to do while I'm doing other things - watching TV, reading, prepping for classes...

I knit my first socks this year. And my first sweater. And started to feel like I'm actually pretty good at this thing. Time to try something different. Something more challenging.

I found a lovely pattern on this great knitting website. The pictures were gorgeous, the model so chic and fashionable... I couldn't resist.

Lace is quite different from a chunky woolen sweater made for a child who has no coat, or thick wool socks made for a child who doesn't own shoes. Tiny needles. The finest yarn.

It was an experience.

And here it is, in all its glory.






The color is truer on the second picture. I'm much better at knitting than photographing knitting. It looked pretty good while on the needles (but I forgot to take a picture) but just blossomed after my (rather amateurish) blocking.

It's strong, warm, and beautiful. Just like the person for whom it was made.