Heigh ho

It's off to Yarn School I go! Lots of pictures to follow, I'm sure.

The last of the gallbladder episode

Thank you to everyone who asked after Mike. The ultrasound showed he had stones, so the gallbladder ended up coming out with no further ado... it was done laproscopically & he came home the same day. His recovery has been completely uneventful and he is feeling fine, eating normally & was back to work within a couple of days. All is well again.

Rosebud

Yarn: Elann.com's Peruvian Uros Aran (50% wool, 50% llama) Needles: size 8 Stitch pattern: Rosebuds from 356 Knitting Stitches a Year My second lace shawl, this one made as a gift for my dear friend Miriam, who loves all things rosy.

Lace, of course, is all about the blocking. Before blocking, the shawl resembles nothing so much as a crumpled, wadded mess.

I soaked it in the sink for a few minutes, then squeezed it out in a beach towel. Now it's ready to block.

For this project, I invested in a set of blocking wires from KnitPicks, which made the whole job much easier. I heartily recommend blocking wires to anyone who wants to knit lace.

The lace pattern opened up beautifully, and the shawl grew by several inches. I actually finished this shawl a couple of months ago, but have been holding off on posting until I could present Miriam with her gift. Happy Birthday, dear one!

Griffindor Quidditch Robe

The second major piece of Hunter's Harry Potter costume -- the robe -- is done! (The sweater, you may recall, was finished a few months ago.) The last bit that I need to make are the (faux) leather greaves & vambraces. Then we'll come up with some white pants, a broom, and some round-framed glasses. Voilà, a perfect little Harry Potter.

ER Booga

The ER Booga is finished & felted. It's tiny! I put it in the washing machine with the intention of checking on it every ten minutes, and then promptly forgot about it. The result: it felted down to a tight, dense little purse that's half the original knitted size. It stands about 7" tall and the base is a 5" square. The spiral stripes turned out nice too.