Well, I haven't blogged about the shawl in a while, so we can all handle an update, I think.

As you can see, it doesn't look all that different, but trust me, it's growing.
I'm up to round 153, and I have over 1000 stitches on the needles. The rounds don't go very quickly any more!
And I'm feeling a little squished on the needle.

As you can see, it's getting to be a rather tight fit. I'm using a "Pony" brand circular, and it's 100cm long. The only longer needle I have is an Addi Turbo, and I don't think the mix of addi turbo and alpaca lace weight is something I'm ready to face.
So we'll soldier on, squished and all.
There are less than 40 rounds to go, but each one is taking upwards of 45 minutes now, so the end isn't close yet. And I don't think I have enough yarn, but I still have a hank and a half of the Alpaca cloud, so we'll see how far I get. I'm thinking that if all goes well, I might enter the shawl into the Sydney Royal Easter Show next year. The only shawl category they have is "Shetland Shawl" and I don't know what defines a Shetland Shawl. I may have to hunt down the information. *If* it comes out like I hope!
Em is dancing again tonight, so I'll be working on the Cardi back. I'll let you all know how much I get done!

The bag is done! :)

I'm mostly pleased with it. I wish I had used heavier fabric. Most of what I used was just quilting fabrics. It may have been beter if I had used some interfacing or something, because it's a bit floppy. But it's cute, and it's just the right size for a project.
Which was convenient, becuase yesterday was another dance comp day. It started off fine, but ended up running and hour and a half late, and we were there for hours.
I didn't want to take the shawl, because it isn't easy to just pick up and put down, and a noisy crowded hall isn't conducive to quality lace knitting. So I hunted around for something new which had to be relatively easy, and good for odd rows here and there.
A little while back, I won a competition that Lynette had, and won some Cotton Ease. I had started a ChicKami, but it was coming out too big, and it wasn't something I could see a lot of use for in my climate. So I hunted about, and found this pattern in a previous issue of Family Circle Easy Knits.

It required more Cottonease than I had, so I tracked down some more. It's a different dyelot, so I'm using two balls at once, two rows from each ball. I'm pretty glad I took it along, because I got a little bit done.

Just a little! ;)
I'm 4 rows from starting the armhole and raglan shaping. I knew these full on dancing days would be good for something! Em did well too, placing in every section she was in.
No other knitting has been done, and I'm way behind on my sewing and stuff.
Em and Twinkie have spent the morning together, with Em bribing Twink for cuddles.

That rabbit will do anything for dandelion flowers!

We went to Stitch n Bitch yesterday, and had a great time again! Stripey and Annie, you were missed! Lots of lovely things being knitted, and lots of nice books and yarns being passed around. All I managed while we were there was 2 rounds on the never ending shawl, however it is up to round 141 now. Imagine it like the last picture, only a tiny bit bigger. Okay, it might be a bit more than a tiny bit bigger, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
I have just joined in the third ball, so I am now officially half way through!
One of the ladies at SnB yesterday had made the loveliest little bag which she showed us, so this morning, whilst out and about, we popped into Spotlight and i came away with this.

I have only the vaguest idea of what I plan to do, I didn't really get the best look at the lovely little bag, but we'll see what I manage. :)

Well, the long abandoned project was Charlotte's Web.
I selected a knit edging from Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls, did the whole thing, and finished this afternoon.
I have just reblocked her.
It is huge. Ridiculously huge. It should be 38" x 76". Even without stretching it, just laying it out on the floor wet, it is 48" x 90".
So, I will frog her and start over. Again.
But not tonight.

I got tagged by Alison.

Something to consider.

That's the 5th sentence of my 23rd post. Nicely ambiguous :)

THE RULES:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

I think everyone in blogland has done this meme now, so I shan't pass it on.

And for Sandy.

Springtime sky in Sydney. Its been a beautiful day today!
The mystery project is nearly done. And long overdue, too!!

I had an acquisitve weekend, however nary a strand of yarn was purchased.
We went into the city on Saturday to see the Russian National Ballet in rehearsal. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
However, as we were in town anyway, we stopped at Tapestry Craft. It's the first time I've been in since they moved, and I like the new setup. The whole downstairs is knitting, and it's all nice and spread out. We looked about, and I resisted temptation.
I *really* wanted to get some Madil Kid Seta, I have the pattern for the Cocoon Lace scarf, but I need 2 balls, and it was $AU26.30 a ball. So I put it back reluctantly, but I did splurge on new DPNS.

$AU34, but they are lovely! And I deserve it ;)
Then the postman came today. A while back I knitted the pink STYK toddler cardi for a cute little girl I know, and her parents gave me an Amazon voucher as a thank you. I love books!

Shawls and Scarves from Knitters magazine, Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls and Polar Bears.
The shawl is progressing s-l-o-w-l-y, but the arrival of these books has brought to life a long-unfinished project. Any guesses?

Holy Guacamole, Houston, we have a problem.

Ouch. As soon as this happened, I caught the stitch and very carefully set the knitting aside. After an hour or so, I picked up the knitting, took a picture, then repaired.

I feel better now :)

Shawls make boring blogging. There, I said it. And it makes it feel like I'm getting nowhere fast!
The Feather and Fan shawl is growing. It is! I swear!

I'm up to row 114. Out of 190. Sounds good, doesn't it? However, I have only just started the second skein of Alpaca Cloud. Which means I'm only about a fifth of the way through. Recommended yardage is around 2200 yards, I have 1700, so mine will be smaller anyway. But to have come so far, and to realise that I haven't really come far at all is kinda disappointing.
The shawl is lovely, though :)

Here is the centre bit.

Here is the Feather and Fan detail.

So, I'm slightly more than a quarter of the way there. I can't promise that I won't get sick of it long before the end, though!
Twinkie is the essence of a lazy bunny. This is how a lazy bunny spends the morning. You find a nice spot in the dirt, then you flop down so that your head in the middle of a nice green patch of grass, and you don't have to go anywhere when you want a nibble.

That's the life!

I got busy with the dyepot yesterday :)
I had this Shimmer in the colour "Morning Mist"

I had swatched with it for the Mystery Shawl, but I didn't like the way it was striping. I love the yarn, but the colours do nothing for me.
Mystery Shawl 2 is coming up at the end of the month, and I was debating what to use for it. I don't really have the money for something new, so I decided to dye the Shimmer. I used Landscapes dye in the colour "Opal", and this is what I ended up with.

It's not a solid colour, the darker blues in the original colour are still a little darker, but I really like it.

See the darker bits? I don't think that they'll matter too much, as it's not a huge contrast. I can't wait to knit it up now :)

Not a lot of knitting going on, Em has kept us busy with dancing. She had a party on Friday night, and she got the results from the dance exams she did in August. She got Honours in all three, which is the highest standard you can get :)
Then on Saturday, she danced at a local school fete.
DH tried to take pics, but we ended up with a lot like this.

That's Em's finger circled. And like this.

Here's one where you can actually see her!

And I like this one from her Jazz duo - action shot! :)

I'm behind on the sewing as usual, and we're all bouncing off the walls from too much sugar (thanks Alexis! ;).
Twinkie says "Whatever, but this is my dinner!"

I got mail today, and I feel like it's my birthday all over again!

Australian customs wanted to have a bit of a sticky beak, and they didn't do the best job of putting it all back together, and the scissors that I keep in the car have gone missing, so all the way home, this taunted me.

And look at all the goodies inside! It was like Mary Poppins bag, everytime I pulled something out, there was still someting else there :)

Canadian candy! Chocolate! And Fleece Artist sock yarn!

Look at those colours :)
The yarn feels as heavenly as it looks, I swear!
And the final gift in the little wooden box is spectacular. I took off the lid, and look what I saw.

Little white paws!

Polar bears. Hand carved from Star Marble Stone. Gorgeous, aren't they?
I feel like a spoiled kid :)
Thank you, Alexis!!

No new pics of the Feather and Fan shawl today, as DH has the camera with him. But it's getting bigger, I'm up to row 50, and it's on a 40cm circ now. I've never knit with a 40cm circ before this, but it's not as bad as I was expecting. I thought it'd be hard to hold and manoeuver, but it's been good.
The Feather and Fan patterning starts on round 61, so I'm nearly through the big flower in the centre bit.
I could take a picture with my mobile phone, but for some reason, I can't download pics to my computer, it only works on DH's computer.
So, seeing as there are no knitting pics, I thought I'd show you some of the silly pictures Em took on the mobile phone a few weeks ago, while we were waiting to pick up Pizza.

Well, Emily made her confirmation last night. She chose Judith as her confirmation name. (That was my mother's name and is actually already one of her middle names).

Our Church is very small, so there were only nine children making their confirmation, but it was a lovely service.
Of course, no event would be complete without a drama around here. My older sister was supposed to be Em's sponsor, but about 2 hours before the service, my 6 year old nephew fell off a fence, and broke his arm in two places. So my sister ended up spending the night at the hospital, and my mother stood in for her. My nephew had surgery this morning, and will be fine, but he apparently has a cast all the way up to his underarm.
Still, we are all far, far better off than many people in the world tonight.

The mystery shawl is blocked.

I am not happy with it :(
I love the yarn, I love the colours, I love the shawl pattern. Just not all together. The lace pattern is totally swallowed up by the colours. However, I did wrap it around myself while I sat at the computer last night, and it was quite nice, so all is not lost.
And the next project has been started! It will indeed be the Feather and Fan shawl from A Gathering of Lace.

Here is the start.

Not too far to go! ;)

A long overdue blog post, but it's back to the knitting!
Shawls don't make good blogging do they? They look like crap on the needles, they seem to grow so slowly and they don't give you an awful lot to say!
Anyway, the Mystery Shawl is off the needles.

Doesn't look like much, does it? The lace pattern is lost, and it looks all lumpy and yuck. Well, it's had it's bath and is blocking right now. However, silly me has pinned it out on red and pink beach towels, so you still can't see it very well :)
So, no pics yet. You'll have to come back tomorrow! ;)
The shawl has not been very portable, and Nat reminded me (in a roundabout way) that I hadn't worked on a sock in quite some time, and seeing as the Sick Sock Stash is not shrinking (quite the opposite!), I thought a sock was long overdue.

A sock for Em, in Lorna's "Girly Stripe". She wants the socks l-o-n-g, so I'm working toe-up, and I'll just keep going until I use up the whole ball!
Twinkie has taken every opportunity to be naughty this week. She got under my bed again, and Em caught her in the act.

Doesn't look concerned at all, does she?

Em is making her Confirmation tomorrow night, lots of pics then, I promise!