Lace

I've become quite fond of knitting lace. There is a wonderful moment during each lace project when one stops seeing the paper instructions and starts to see the pattern emerge in the yarn under the hands. From then on, you're in the zone. It flows organically, almost like sculpting, and the shapes appear one by one, row by row. Love it.
What I am not fond of is knitting to deadline. This is why I seldom knit big gifts. However, when my niece announced she was marrying, I knew I wanted to give an heirloom type gift along with whatever household doodad I chose from the registry.Wow, the shower came fast! Before I knew it, it was 10 days away with only a third of the shawl complete. I actually had to count the rows and budget rows-per-day in order to even have a hope of finishing on time. Then I decided to add one more repeat because it really was too small to start the border. Then I decided to bead the border. Because I am crazy.

It was painful, especially the midnight blocking the night before wrapping. These photos were taken just before popping it into a gift bag. Yet, I think it was worth it. The Zephyr wool/silk lace has that dry shiny crunch that I find so sensual in some silks and the beads add a lovely weight to the whole thing. My niece seemed to like it very much.