Heart scarf

This is the Heart scarf, all blocked and dry. It is certainly lying a lot flatter now, it was curling quite badly beforehand. I guess this isn't a particularly "lacy" lace pattern and the amount of contiguous stockinette causes all the curling. It is also very soft, the Patons Jet (wool/alpaca) is even softer after washing. I used a smidge under 2 balls, on 7.5mm needles. The scarf is around 5.5 inches wide and 60 inches long:



I had to run a sharpen filter on the photo as for some reason the camera wasn't playing ball with the focus, even though I pre-focused. Maybe it is sulking because I switched the flash off :-) Hazel, I'm going to post this and the boa off to you, I have a few other things to do for the fair which I'll send later on.

I also took a photo of the Chocolate Cherries silk, as the colours are so fab:



Doing quite well with the capelet today, I'm half way through the second lace repeat. DH made me a reversible sign today, I will have to photograph it as it's hilarious - a hint being that I was knitting lace and counting and that isn't compatible with chatting :-) I'm wondering a little about the sizing and gauge on this, it's very hard to tell as there is are a ton of stitches on a circular needle. It says 4mm needle and gauge is 16 stitches - kind of odd figures since the yarn is question would ordinarily knit on a 5mm needle to 18 stitches - you would expect that to increase with a smaller needle, yes? I figured this would be knit in a denser fabric than a sweater as it's technically outerwear, though. I'm sure it will all become clearer as I progress!

The new Knitting magazine arrived today. Frankly it's all getting a bit dire! Several patterns from books, two RYC I think and one from Colinette Femme Fatale. What's the point in buying the mag. if I already have those books? The yarn reviews weren't much use either. Why not review the new Rowan and Sirdar yarns, for example? The ones they picked are tending towards novelty yarns and ignoring the ones you might actually like to make a garment with. The best bit was the letters page, more like the Twilight Zone. One reader wrote in to say the Internet is to blame for the closure of yarn shops, then refers to the 1980s! Methinks someone is a teeny bit prejudiced, and also is talking from somewhere not always associated with speech :-) Strange too that we are seeing more yarn shops opening up now, bricks and mortar versions (and a lot of these have internet shops too). I would use my LYS more (two if you count the haberdasher selling Sirdar and RYC) if they didn't mark up the prices to more than RRP. I do buy some stuff there but most major yarn purchases are via the internet. Roll on October and Yarn Forward magazine, I say :-) A bit of a rant there, goodness me. I just get annoyed by blind prejudice and poor value for money :-)