the shawl that broke my blog

No, I still don't have internet at home (though I have all the parts now and all it would take is an evening to sit down and put them together). What I do have is the CD-ROM of these fabulous shawl pics that finally got unearthed. This was the Sooper Sekrit Project that I worked on so long and had to catalog so lovingly before I could send it off to its new home and blog about it. All photos are by the incomparable Bonne Marie, and copyrights, of course, are hers.

What did I learn from this Diamond Fantasy shawl? First, that lace and social knitting do not mix. Despite the Yarn Harlot's warnings, I swore a lot and pulled out a lot of stitches because I couldn't trust the pattern. Then I swore and ripped a lot because I didn't follow the pattern. I knew I was on the scant side of my yarn requirements, but felt like I was doing okay because I had only two rows to go plus a bind-off. The top of this shawl has rows of a couple hundred stitches each. I had to go buy more yarn (thank you, thank you, thank you Toni) several months after I'd bought the first batch.

I also learned that despite all my swearing, I really like lace. And despite it feeling like it took forever, I cast on for this project in October coming back from Pittsburgh and cast off barely four months later. (I know! For some of you, that is "taking forever"! Bear with me, my knitting is in a different time zone.) In comparison, it took almost four months to get the thing blocked, sent and blogged.

I also learned that I am not quite up to the task of photographing lace on my own, but thankfully Ms. Burns is there in the breach. What a generous treat at the end of all this knitting!

So what am I working on now?

* baby surprise jacket
* baby hat (teeny! Will it fit? Only if he comes out in the next week!)
* baby blanket--ETA November or December
* stashbusting blanket: for when I just can't keep my eyes open to count stitches
* Trekking socks: slowly but surely.

Since the move, I've realized I have more yarn than God. I can't even walk into a yarn store until I use some of this up. And when will I have time to knit? We'll see. The brave new world of parenthood has got my stash quivering in its Rubbermaids.

I'm 37 weeks today, which gives me the "green light" to get this kid out. I can't wait to meet young Bonzo, and can't wait to take a little time off work. I foolishly believe that I'll have more time to knit when I'm at home. All you parents can start laughing now.